What does "gimp" mean?
A narrow ornamental fabric or braid of silk, wool, or cotton, often stiffened with metallic wire or coarse cord running through it, used as trimming for dresses, curtains, furniture, etc. Also guimpe.
Gimp
/ɡɪmp/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A narrow ornamental fabric or braid of silk, wool, or cotton, often stiffened with metallic wire or coarse cord running through it, used as trimming for dresses, curtains, furniture, etc. Also guimpe.
- Grammar: gimp is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: braid, claudication, cording, cripple.
- Useful contrasts: able-bodied person, cure, empower.
- Usage evidence: Gimp is a derogatory word to describe an injured or disabled person.
How to use "gimp"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gimp" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gimp" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gimp" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gimp" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gimp" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "braid" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gimp", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A narrow ornamental fabric or braid of silk, wool, or cotton, often stiffened with metallic wire or coarse cord running through it, used as trimming for dresses, curtains, furniture, etc. Also guimpe. countable, uncountable
"They sat about in black and shiny and flouncey clothing adorned with gimp and beads, eating great quantities of cake, drinking much tea in a stately manner and reverberating remarks."
- 2 A person who is lame due to a crippling of the legs or feet. informal
"(person)"
- 3 Acronym of GNU Image Manipulation Program, a computer program capable of editing and manipulating digital images. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
- 4 disability of walking due to crippling of the legs or feet wordnet
- 5 Any coarse or reinforced thread, such as a glazed thread employed in lacemaking to outline designs, or silk thread used as a fishing leader, protected from the bite of fish by a wrapping of fine wire. countable, uncountable
"I'm a fisher of men and my gimp is doing a saltarello over every body of water to fetch up what it may."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 A crippled leg. informal
- 7 Abbreviation of gravitationally interacting massive particle. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, particle
- 8 The plastic cord used in the plaiting and knotting craft scoubidou (lanyard making); or, the process itself. countable, uncountable
- 9 A limp or a limping gait. informal
"She walks with a gimp in one leg, which is why she is called Madame La Gimp..."
- 10 Gumption. Northeastern, US, countable, dated, uncountable
"Love them and encourage them, but put some 'gimp' into them."
- 11 A name-calling word, generally for a person who is perceived to be inept, deficient or peculiar. derogatory, slang
- 12 A submissive dressed in a full-body suit of latex or a similar material.
- 13 A character or ability that is underpowered. derogatory, slang
Verb
- 1 Of yarn, cord, thread, etc., to wrap or wind (surround) with another length of yarn or wire in a tight spiral, often by means of a gimping machine, creating 'gimped yarn', etc. Also, generally, to wrap or twist with string or wire. See gimped.
"It consists of seventy fine spun cotton threads, gimped or tied around with thread by a machine similar to that for wrapping bonnet wire."
- 2 To limp; to hobble. informal, intransitive
- 3 walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury wordnet
- 4 To notch or indent; to jag or make jagged; to edge with serrations or grooves. dated
"They are prettier cut and gimped in the shape of wheels."
- 5 To make underpowered; to limit or restrict the useful effects of. slang, transitive
Adjective
- 1 Neat; trim; delicate; slender; handsome; spruce; elegant. dated
Example
"Gimp is a derogatory word to describe an injured or disabled person."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gimp"?
Common synonyms include: braid, claudication, cording, cripple, demean, deride.
How do you use "gimp" in a sentence?
Gimp is a derogatory word to describe an injured or disabled person.
How do you pronounce "gimp"?
Pronounced /ɡɪmp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Attested since about 1660, perhaps from Dutch gimp or French guimpe, and likely from Old French guimpre, a variant of guipure, a kind of trimming. The regional sense of "gumption" is attested since about 1905, and may have developed due to the reinforced nature of gimp cord, or possibly the influence of the words gumption and gumph.
Etymology 2
Attested in US slang since the 1920s. Maybe influenced by, or cognate with limp.
Etymology 3
Scots. Alternative form of jimp. Compare Welsh gwymp (“fair, neat, comely”).