What does "limit" mean?
A restriction; a bound beyond which one may not go.
Limit
/ˈlɪm.ɪt/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A restriction; a bound beyond which one may not go.
- Grammar: limit is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bound, boundary, limitation, curtail.
- Useful contrasts: allowed room, distended, edible mushroom.
- Usage evidence: Death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.
How to use "limit"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "limit" 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 "limit" 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 "limit" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "limit" 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 "limit" 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 "bound" 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 "limit", 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 restriction; a bound beyond which one may not go.
"There are several existing limits to executive power."
- 2 the greatest possible degree of something wordnet
- 3 A value to which a sequence converges. Equivalently, the common value of the upper limit and the lower limit of a sequence: if the upper and lower limits are different, then the sequence has no limit (i.e., does not converge).
"The sequence of reciprocals has zero as its limit."
- 4 the boundary of a specific area wordnet
- 5 Any of several abstractions of this concept of limit.
"Category theory defines a very general concept of limit."
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 as far as something can go wordnet
- 7 The cone of a diagram through which any other cone of that same diagram can factor uniquely.
- 8 the greatest amount of something that is possible or allowed wordnet
- 9 Fixed limit.
- 10 the mathematical value toward which a function goes as the independent variable approaches infinity wordnet
- 11 The final, utmost, or furthest point; the border or edge.
"the limit of a walk, of a town, or of a country"
- 12 final or latest limiting point wordnet
- 13 The space or thing defined by limits. obsolete
"The archdeacon hath divided it / Into three limits very equally."
- 14 That which terminates a period of time; hence, the period itself; the full time or extent. obsolete
"the dateless limit of thy dear exile"
- 15 A restriction; a check or curb; a hindrance. obsolete
"I prithee, give no limits to my tongue."
- 16 A determining feature; a distinguishing characteristic.
- 17 The first group of riders to depart in a handicap race.
- 18 A person who is exasperating, intolerable, astounding, etc. colloquial
"Englehorn looked at his employer in incredulous admiration. ‘You’re the limit,’ he declared."
- 19 Ellipsis of harmonic limit. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Verb
- 1 To restrict; to circumscribe; not to allow to go beyond a certain bound, to set boundaries. transitive
"We need to limit the power of the executive."
- 2 place limits on (extent or amount or access) wordnet
- 3 To have a limit in a particular set. intransitive
"The sequence limits on the point a."
- 4 restrict or confine within limits wordnet
- 5 To beg, or to exercise functions, within a certain limited region. obsolete
"a limiting friar"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 decide upon or fix definitely wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Being a fixed limit game. not-comparable
Example
"Death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "limit"?
Common synonyms include: bound, boundary, limitation, curtail, abate, abridge.
How do you use "limit" in a sentence?
Death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.
How do you pronounce "limit"?
Pronounced /ˈlɪm.ɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English limit, from Old French limit, from Latin līmes (“a cross-path or balk between fields, hence a boundary, boundary line or wall, any path or road, border, limit”). Displaced native Old English ġemǣre. Doublet of limes.
Etymology 2
From Middle English limiten, from Old French limiter, from Latin līmitō (“to bound, limit, fix, determine”), from līmes; see noun.