gimp

Formsgimps, gimping, gimped

Pluralgimps

1. 1
   weaken (games)verbslangtransitive

   To make something underpowered, or limit how useful it is, especially a character, weapon, or ability in a game.

   Players were furious when the developers gimped the sniper rifle in the latest patch.

   Some speedrunners gimp their own characters with weak gear just for the challenge.

   Similarnerf

   Oppositebuff

2. 2
   rubber suitnouncountable

   A submissive partner in BDSM who is dressed in a full-body suit of latex or a similar material.

   At the fetish club, a gimp in head-to-toe latex knelt quietly beside his partner.

   The play's most unsettling character is a masked gimp who never speaks and obeys every command.

   Note

   Costume and role share the name here: a gimp is defined by the full-body latex suit as much as by submission, and the outfit itself is called a gimp suit. Within BDSM the role is chosen and agreed to, which sets this use apart from the insults built on the same word. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • The BDSM meaning combines submission with wearing a full-body latex suit or similar garment. en.wiktionary.org
   • The outfit is called a gimp suit. en.wikipedia.org
   • The BDSM role involves negotiated consent. gimp.community
3. 3
   losernounslangderogatorycountable

   An insulting name for a person seen as inept, deficient, or peculiar.

   UsageWhatever the speaker means, it also lands as a jab at disability, so it is best avoided.

   Similardork, nerd, geek, dweeb

   Note

   The insult is harsher than its synonyms suggest. Dork, nerd and dweeb mock awkwardness, but gimp comes from the same US slang as the word for a lame person, perhaps shaped by limp, so it also lands as a jab at disability. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The general insult and the disability-related sense share a US slang etymology, possibly influenced by limp. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   decorative braidnouncountable or uncountable

   A narrow decorative braid of silk, wool, or cotton, often stiffened by a metal wire or coarse cord inside it, used to trim dresses, curtains, and furniture.

   The upholsterer glued gimp along the seat frame to hide the tacks.

   Her grandmother's velvet dress was trimmed with black gimp at the collar and cuffs.

   Similarbraid, trim

   Note

   The trimming word came into English around 1660, perhaps through Dutch gimp or French guimpe, and probably goes back to Old French guipure, itself a kind of trimming. It is a separate word from the slang for a lame person, which is American and first recorded in the 1920s, so H. G. Wells could dress a room of matrons in gimp and beads with no hint of insult. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 7 facts

   • The trimming word is attested in English around 1660. en.wiktionary.org
   • Dutch gimp or French guimpe may have supplied the English word. en.wiktionary.org
   • The word probably derives ultimately from Old French guipure, denoting trimming. en.wiktionary.org
   • The trimming word and the slang term have separate etymologies. en.wiktionary.org
   • The slang term is American. en.wiktionary.org
   • The slang predates the 1920s: Aniello Prisco, who died in 1912, was nicknamed “Zopo the Gimp” because he limped. en.wikipedia.org
   • H. G. Wells described women wearing clothing decorated with gimp and beads, using the textile sense. gutenberg.org
5. 5
   nounslangoffensivecountable

   An offensive word for a person who is lame because of a disability or injury of the legs or feet.

   UsageCareful speakers say someone walks with a limp, or simply name the condition.

   Similarcripple

   Note

   This branch of the word is American slang from the 1920s, perhaps shaped by limp or kin to it. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The disability-related branch is attested in American slang from the 1920s, with a possible influence from or relationship to limp. en.wiktionary.org
6. 6
   limp alongverbcolloquialintransitive

   To limp, or to hobble along slowly and awkwardly.

   Exhausted runners often gimp across the finish line on blistered feet.

   He was still gimping a week after the knee surgery.

   Similarlimp, hobble

7. 7
   craft cordnouncountable or uncountable

   The plastic cord used to plait and knot lanyards and similar crafts, or the craft itself.

   The campers spent the rainy afternoon doing gimp at the craft tables.

   Each lanyard needs several feet of gimp in two colors.

   Similarboondoggle

8. 8
   thick threadnouncountable or uncountable

   Any coarse or reinforced thread, such as the glazed thread lacemakers use to outline a design, or a silk fishing leader wrapped in fine wire against the bite of fish.

   The lacemaker worked a heavier gimp around each flower to make the pattern stand out.

   He tied a short length of gimp above the hook so the pike could not bite through.

9. 9
   weak game characternounslangderogatorycountable

   A character or ability in a game that is underpowered.

   After the latest update, my rogue is such a gimp that I can barely win a single fight.

   The forums are full of complaints that the new hero is a gimp next to the old ones.

   Note

   Gamers use the noun as a verdict rather than a description: to call a hero or a spell a gimp is to tell other players not to bother with it. It pairs with the verb for weakening, so a character the developers have gimped soon gets dismissed as a gimp.

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