What does limb mean?
A limb is an arm or leg, especially as one of the body’s movable extremities. The word can also describe a branch of a tree and, more generally, any part that projects from a larger object or structure. In medical and anatomical contexts, “upper limb” refers to the arm and “lower limb” refers to the leg, while expressions such as “artificial limb” and “severed limb” concern prostheses or injuries. A tree limb may be described as sturdy, dead, low, or overhanging, and the word often suggests something long, flexible, and extending outward. Although limb is more formal than arm or leg, it is widely understood in British and American English. Its usefulness lies in its ability to cover both bodily extremities and projecting parts more generally without requiring the more specific vocabulary of anatomy or botany.
nounAn arm or leg, or another projecting part of the body. By extension, a limb is a branch of a tree or a similar projecting part of an object.
- An arm or leg of a person or animal.
- A branch of a tree or other plant.
- A projecting or extending part of an object or structure.
"The climber carefully reached for a narrow limb above the ravine."
"He rested his injured limb on a cushion while the nurse examined it."
"The storm snapped a heavy limb and sent it crashing across the path."
The regular plural is limbs. The plural is especially natural when referring to a person’s arms and legs or to several branches of a tree.
"The patient could move both limbs, although one arm remained weak."
From a body’s arm to a tree’s branch, a limb is the part that reaches out from a larger whole.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does limb come from?
The English word descends from Old English lim, used for an extremity of the body and a branch of a tree. It was inherited from Germanic and has relatives in Dutch and German. The word is also associated with the Indo-European root meaning to bend or form a boundary, reflected in Latin limbus, meaning an edge or border, and in related English words such as limbic, liminal, and subliminal.
How limb is actually used
In general use, limb most often refers to an arm or leg and is a formal or neutral alternative to the more specific terms. The botanical sense, a tree limb, is common in descriptions of trees and gardening. Limbs are countable nouns and are regularly used in the plural.
Easily confused with limb
A limb is an arm, leg, branch, or similar projecting part, whereas to limp is to walk unevenly, as when someone has injured a leg.