limp
/lɪmp/verb, noun, adjective, phrase
limp is spelled L-I-M-P: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.7 times per million words in written English, the 16,455th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, limp means “To walk lamely, as if favoring one leg” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in limp?
| Letters | 4: L-I-M-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.7 times per million words; the 16,455th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is limp?
Limp appears 2.7 times per million words in written English, the 16,455th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce limp?
- /lɪmp/
Limp has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-limp.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of limp
- limps present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- limping participle, present
- limped participle, past
- limper comparative
- limpest superlative
- lamp past
- lump participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does limp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To walk lamely, as if favoring one leg.
- 2
To travel with a malfunctioning system of propulsion.
The bomber limped home on one engine.
- 3
To move or proceed irregularly.
limping verses
- 4
slangTo call, particularly in an unraised pot pre-flop.
- 5
To be inadequate or unsatisfactory.
- 6
obsoleteTo happen; befall; chance.
- 7
obsoleteTo come upon; meet.
noun
- 1
An irregular, jerky or awkward gait.
She walks with a limp.
- 2
A scraper for removing poor ore or refuse from the sieve.
- 3
A scraper of board or sheet-iron shaped like half the head of a small cask, used for scraping the ore off the sieve in the operation of hand-jigging.
adjective
- 1
Flaccid; flabby, resembling flesh.
- 2
Lacking stiffness; floppy, flimsy.
a limp rope
- 3
Soft; weak, especially physically.
- 4
slangNot erect.
- 5
slangNot having an erection.
phrase
- 1
Acronym of Louis XIV, James II, Queen Mary of Modena and the Prince of Wales (a code-word among Jacobites)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Limp in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | boiter, boitiller, claudiquer , boitement, boiterie , mou |
| German | hinken, humpeln, lahmen , Gehbehinderung, Hinken , Schraper |
| Portuguese | mancar, coxear , coxeio, coxeadura , flácido , capenga |
| Spanish | cojear , cojera |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does limp come from?
From Middle English limpen (“to fall short”), from Old English limpan, from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).