limit
Noun plurallimits
Formslimits, limiting, limited
Plurallimits
- 1To stop something from going past a fixed point or amount.
Like putting a lid on a jar so nothing spills over.
Try to limit your screen time to one hour each day.
The new rule limits how many guests each person can bring.
UsageSay limit something to an amount: limit it to one hour.
- 2The point or amount that you are not allowed to go past.
Like a fence that shows how far you can go.
There is a speed limit of thirty miles per hour on this road.
Please stay within the limits set by your parents.
UsageSay a limit on something. You can reach a limit or stay within it.
Similarrestriction, cap, ceiling, maximum, restraint
- 3The farthest edge or point that something reaches.
Like the edge of a cliff where the land stops.
The hikers walked to the very limit of the forest.
Snow covered everything to the limits of the valley.
UsageOften plural, as in city limits. To the limit means as far as it can go.
Similaredge, boundary, border, extent, frontier
Note
Less common meanings
- 4In math, the value that a list of numbers gets closer and closer to.
As you add more terms, the sum gets closer to its limit.
The limit of this sequence is two.
UsageSay a list of numbers has a limit of 1, or gets closer to it.
Note
- 5Describing a poker game where the bets can only be a fixed, set amount.
They played a friendly limit game at the casino.
He prefers limit poker because the bets stay small.
UsageUsed before a noun: limit poker, a limit game.
- 6A kind of poker where each bet must be a fixed amount, set in advance for each round.
They decided to play limit at the small-stakes table.
Most beginners at the club start with limit before trying other kinds of poker.
UsageSay play limit, like the name of a game, with no a.
Note
- 7A person who is incredibly annoying, shocking, or hard to believe.
Honestly, you are the limit! I can't believe you did that again.
My little brother is the absolute limit when he's tired.
UsageSaid as you're the limit or she's the limit, when you are annoyed or amazed.
Note
- 8A feature that makes something what it is and sets it apart from other things.
Similarcharacteristic, feature
Note
- 9The end of a stretch of time, or the whole stretch itself.
The limit of your lives is out.
c. 1593, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third:”Here, limit means the allotted length of time.the dateless limit of thy dear exile
1595, William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”Here, limit means the full length of time.Note
- 10An area or object marked out by its borders.
The archdeacon hath divided it / Into three limits very equally.
c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth,”Here, limits means areas of land marked out by borders.Note
- 11To beg or carry out duties only inside a set area.
Note
- 12In math, to have a limit that lies inside a certain set.
- 13In advanced mathematics, a wider form of the idea of a limit.
- 14Short form of harmonic limit. Used in music when talking about tuning.
- 15In a handicap bike race, the first group of riders allowed to start.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
From Latin "limes", meaning a boundary or path between fields, which came into English through Old French.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- English limit ultimately derives from Latin līmes. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin līmes means a boundary or a path between fields. en.wikipedia.org
- The word entered English through Old French. en.wiktionary.org
From Latin "limitō", meaning to bound or fix, which came into English through Old French.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The verb limit derives from Latin limitō through Old French. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin limitō means to bound or fix. en.wiktionary.org