What does "limb" mean?
A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing).
Limb
/lɪm/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing).
- Grammar: limb is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: arm, branch, ankle, appendage.
- Useful contrasts: main body, torso, trunk.
- Usage evidence: I'm not going out on a limb for you because you never helped me before.
How to use "limb"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "limb" 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 "limb" 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 "limb" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "limb" 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 "limb" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "arm" 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 "limb", 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 major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing).
"UUhoſe hands are made to gripe a warlike Lance— Their ſhoulders broad, for complet armour fit, Their lims more large and of a bigger ſize Than all the brats yſprong from Typhons loins:"
- 2 The apparent visual edge of a celestial body.
"the solar limb"
- 3 any projection that is thought to resemble a human arm wordnet
- 4 A branch of a tree.
- 5 The graduated edge of a circle or arc.
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 the graduated arc that is attached to an instrument for measuring angles wordnet
- 7 The part of the bow, from the handle to the tip.
- 8 The border or upper spreading part of a monopetalous corolla, or of a petal or sepal; blade.
"The corolla limb of the moonvine Calonyction aculeatum is normally undivided."
- 9 either of the two halves of a bow from handle to tip wordnet
- 10 An elementary piece of the mechanism of a lock.
- 11 one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm, leg, wing, flipper wordnet
- 12 A thing or person regarded as a part or member of, or attachment to, something else.
"That little limb of the devil has cheated the gallows."
- 13 (astronomy) the circumferential edge of the apparent disc of the sun or the moon or a planet wordnet
- 14 Ellipsis of limb of Satan (“a wicked or mischievous child”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 15 any of the main branches arising from the trunk or a bough of a tree wordnet
Verb
- 1 To remove the limbs from (an animal or tree). transitive
"They limbed the felled trees before cutting them into logs."
- 2 To supply with limbs. transitive
"Innumerous living creatures , perfect forms , Limb'd and full grown: out of the ground uprose"
- 3 To thoroughly defeat an opponent in fisticuffs transitive
"Brian limbed Roger over at the Beahive last night."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"I'm not going out on a limb for you because you never helped me before."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "limb"?
Common synonyms include: arm, branch, ankle, appendage, appendage, appendages.
How do you use "limb" in a sentence?
I'm not going out on a limb for you because you never helped me before.
How do you pronounce "limb"?
Pronounced /lɪm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lyme, lim, from Old English lim (“limb, branch”), from Proto-West Germanic *limu, from Proto-Germanic *limuz (“branch, limb”). Cognate with Old Norse limr (“limb”). The spelling with the silent unetymological -b first arose in the late 1500s. Compare crumb.
Etymology 2
From Latin limbus (“border”).
Etymology 3
Variant of Lum.