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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

limit.

A restriction; a bound beyond which one may not go or proceed.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈlɪm.ɪt//ˈlɪm.ɪʈ/South-Asia/lɪmʈ/South-Asia, colloquial
  1. A restriction; a bound beyond which one may not go or proceed.

    There are several existing limits to executive power.
    Two drinks is my limit tonight.
  2. 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.
  3. Any of several abstractions of this concept of limit.

    Category theory defines a very general concept of limit.
  4. The cone of a diagram through which any other cone of that same diagram can factor uniquely.

  5. Fixed limit.

  6. The final, utmost, or furthest point; the border or edge.

    the limit of a walk, of a town, or of a country
  7. The space or thing defined by limits.

    obsolete
  8. That terminates a period of time; hence, the period itself; the full time or extent.

    obsolete
  9. A restriction; a check or curb; a hindrance.

    obsolete
  10. A determining feature; a distinguishing characteristic.

  11. The first group of riders to depart in a handicap race.

  12. A person who is exasperating, intolerable, astounding, etc.

    colloquial
  13. Ellipsis of harmonic limit.

    abbreviation · alt-of · ellipsis
Where this word comes from

From Middle English limit, from Old French limit, from oblique stem of Latin līmes, līmit- (“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.

adj/ˈlɪm.ɪt//ˈlɪm.ɪʈ/South-Asia/lɪmʈ/South-Asia, colloquial
  1. Being a fixed limit game.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English limit, from Old French limit, from oblique stem of Latin līmes, līmit- (“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.

verb/ˈlɪm.ɪt//ˈlɪm.ɪʈ/South-Asia/lɪmʈ/South-Asia, colloquial
  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.
    I'm limiting myself to two drinks tonight.
  2. To have a limit in a particular set.

    intransitive
    The sequence limits on the point a.
  3. To beg, or to exercise functions, within a certain limited region.

    obsolete
    a limiting friar
Where this word comes from

From Middle English limiten, from Old French limiter, from Latin līmitō (“to bound, limit, fix, determine”), from līmes; see noun.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.