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limb

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lim
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlɪm

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing).

  2. One of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper

  3. Any of the main branches arising from the trunk or a bough of a tree

  4. A thing or person regarded as a part or member of, or attachment to, something else.

  5. An elementary piece of the mechanism of a lock.

  6. A wicked or mischievous child.

verb

  1. transitive

    To thoroughly defeat an opponent in fisticuffs

  2. transitive

    To remove the limbs from (an animal or tree).

  3. transitive

    To supply with limbs.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing).

Used this way, limb is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use limb

  • “The monkey swung gracefully from one limb of the tree to another.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

upper limbphantom limbhind limblimb budlower limbascending limbaffected limbtree limb

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • limb-girdle muscular dystrophynounCompound term

    An autosomal recessive form of muscular dystrophy that appears anywhere from late childhood to middle age.

  • limber pinenounCompound term

    Western North American pine with long needles and very flexible limbs and dark-grey furrowed bark.

  • limber upverbCompound term

    Attach the limber.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • climbing salamandernounRelated term

    Any of several North American salamanders adapted for climbing with well-developed limbs and long somewhat squared-off toes.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.