hobble

Noun · Verb
US[hob-uhl]/ˈhɑbəl/2 syllables
Synonyms: fetterhitchlimpgimphopple

Open English WordNet

Verb (3)hobbled, hobbling

  1. walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury“The old woman hobbles down to the store every day”Synonyms: limpgimphitchMore general walk
  2. hamper the action or progress of“The chairman was hobbled by the all-powerful dean”More general impede, hinder
  3. strap the foreleg and hind leg together on each side (of a horse) in order to keep the legs on the same side moving in unison“hobble race horses”Synonyms: hoppleMore general strap

Noun (2)

  1. a shackle for the ankles or feetSynonyms: fetterType of shackle, bond
  2. the uneven manner of walking that results from an injured legSynonyms: hitchlimpType of gait

Related words hobbler noun, hopple verb

Word of the day · Nov 3About this word
incessantadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Hob′ble intransitive verb [past tense & past participle Hobbled; present participle & verbal noun Hobbling.]

Origin: OE. hobelen, hoblen, freq. of hoppen to hop; akin to D. hobbelen, hoblen, hoppeln. See Hop to jump, and cf. Hopple

1. To walk lame, bearing chiefly on one leg; to walk with a hitch or hop, or with crutches.

The friar was hobbling the same way too.— John Dryden

2. To move roughly or irregularly; — said of style in writing. Matthew Prior

The hobbling versification, the mean diction.— Jeffreys.
Hob′ble transitive verb

1. To fetter by tying the legs; to hopple; to clog. “ They hobbled their horses.” Charles Dickens

2. To perplex; to embarrass.

Hob′ble noun

1. An unequal gait; a limp; a halt; as, he has a hobble in his gait. Jonathan Swift

2. Same as Hopple.

3. Difficulty; perplexity; embarrassment. Charles Waterton

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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