4 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

lame

adjective

1: pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness; "a feeble excuse"; "a lame argument" [syn: {feeble}]

2: (of horses) disabled in the feet or legs [syn: {spavined}]

3: disabled in the feet or legs; "a crippled soldier"; "a game leg" [syn: {crippled}, {halt}, {halting}, {game}]

noun

1: someone who doesn't understand what is going on [syn: {square}]

2: a fabric interwoven with threads of metal; "she wore a gold lame dress"

verb: deprive of the use of a limb, especially a leg; "The accident has crippled her for life" [syn: {cripple}]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Lame \Lame\ (l[=a]m), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Lamed} (l[=a]md); p. pr. & vb. n. {Laming}.] To make lame.

If you happen to let child fall and lame it. --Swift.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Lame \Lame\ (l[=a]m), adjective [Compar. {Lamer} (l[=a]m"[~e]r); superl. {Lamest}.] [OE. lame, AS. lama; akin to D. lam, G. lahm, OHG., Dan., & Sw. lam, Icel. lami, Russ. lomate to break, lomota rheumatism.] 1. (a) Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury, defect, or temporary obstruction of a function; as, a lame leg, arm, or muscle. (b) To some degree disabled by reason of the imperfect action of a limb; crippled; as, a lame man. ''Lame of one leg.'' --Arbuthnot. ''Lame in both his feet.'' --2 Sam. ix. 13. ''He fell, and became lame.'' --2 Sam. iv. 4.

2. Hence, hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect; as, a lame answer. ''A lame endeavor.'' --Barrow.

O, most lame and impotent conclusion! --Shak.

{Lame duck} (a) (Stock Exchange), a person who can not fulfill his contracts. [Cant] (b) An elected politician who is completing a term after having been defeated at an election; also, an office holder who cannot or chooses not to run again for the same office; -- So called from the presumed lack of political power of one who is soon to be out of office. (b) Any office holder who is serving out a term after a replacement has been selected. [1913 Webster +PJC]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

99 Moby Thesaurus words for "lame": abortive, awkward, bad, bootless, bugger, burden, castrate, castrated, clumsy, cramp, cripple, crippled, cumber, de-energize, debilitate, disable, disabled, disenable, drain, emasculate, emasculated, embarrass, encumber, enfeeble, enmesh, ensnarl, entangle, entoil, entrammel, entrap, entwine, failed, failing, feeble, fetter, flimsy, fruitless, futile, game, half-baked, halt, halting, hamper, hamstring, hamstrung, handicap, handicapped, hobble, hobbled, hobbling, hors de combat, impaired, impede, inactivate, incapacitate, incapacitated, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, involve, kibosh, lime, limping, lumber, maim, maimed, manque, miscarried, miscarrying, net, of no effect, poor, press down, put, queer, queer the works, sabotage, saddle with, shackle, snarl, spavined, spike, stickit, stillborn, successless, tangle, thin, toil, trammel, unconvincing, unfit, unfortunate, unsuccessful, useless, weak, weaken, weigh down, wing, wreck

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