Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

limit

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
verb [transitive] American English pronunciation: limit /ˈlɪmɪt/ 
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theylimit
he/she/itlimits
present participlelimiting
past tenselimited
past participlelimited
  1. 1
    to prevent a number, amount, or effect from increasing past a particular point

    The hospital limits the number of visitors a patient can have.

    The residents’ main demand is to limit the amount of heavy traffic using the street.

    The regulations are designed to limit environmental damage.

    limit something to something:

    The school board has pledged to limit classes to a maximum of twenty-five students.

  2. 2
    to reduce or control someones freedom to do what they want or someones ability to be effective

    Lack of adequate testing limits the effectiveness of the research.

    limit someone to something:

    The regulations limit each committee to recommendations rather than allowing it to take action.

    limit someone to something:

    Most people limit themselves to a few techniques that work best for them.

    be limited by something:

    They were limited by the amount of money they could spend on the production.

  3. 3
    [usually passive] if something is limited to a particular place or group, it happens only in that place or within that group
    be limited to:

    NATO officials said that the air strikes were limited to military targets.

    The right to vote was limited to heads of households and married women.

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

watchword

a word or phrase that expresses someone’s attitude or intention

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog