| / English Dictionary |
LIMB
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Any projection that is thought to resemble a human arm
Example:
a branch of the sewer
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("limb" is a kind of...):
projection (any structure that branches out from a central support)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The graduated arc that is attached to an instrument for measuring angles
Example:
the limb of the sextant
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("limb" is a kind of...):
arc (a continuous portion of a circle)
Holonyms ("limb" is a part of...):
octant (a measuring instrument for measuring angles to a celestial body; similar to a sextant but with 45 degree calibration)
sextant (a measuring instrument for measuring the angular distance between celestial objects; resembles an octant)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Either of the two halves of a bow from handle to tip
Example:
the upper limb of the bow
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("limb" is a kind of...):
part; portion (something less than the whole of a human artifact)
Holonyms ("limb" is a part of...):
bow (a weapon for shooting arrows, composed of a curved piece of resilient wood with a taut cord to propel the arrow)
Sense 4
Meaning:
One of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("limb" is a kind of...):
appendage; extremity; member (an external body part that projects from the body)
Meronyms (parts of "limb"):
stump (the part of a limb or tooth that remains after the rest is removed)
extremity (that part of a limb that is farthest from the torso)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "limb"):
forearm (the part of the superior limb between the elbow and the wrist)
cubitus (the arm from the elbow to the fingertips)
arm (a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb)
thigh (the part of the leg between the hip and the knee)
leg (a structure in animals that is similar to a human leg and used for locomotion)
crus (the leg from the knee to foot)
leg (a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle)
flipper (the flat broad limb of aquatic animals specialized for swimming)
forelimb (the front limb (or the homologous structure in other animals, such as a flipper or wing))
hind limb; hindlimb (a posterior appendage such as a leg or the homologous structure in other animals)
Holonyms ("limb" is a part of...):
appendicular skeleton (the part of the skeleton that includes the pectoral girdle and the pelvic girdle and the upper and lower limbs)
Sense 5
Meaning:
(astronomy) the circumferential edge of the apparent disc of the sun or the moon or a planet
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("limb" is a kind of...):
border; edge (the boundary of a surface)
Domain category:
astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Any of the main branches arising from the trunk or a bough of a tree
Synonyms:
limb; tree branch
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("limb" is a kind of...):
branch (a division of a stem, or secondary stem arising from the main stem of a plant)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "limb"):
stick (a small thin branch of a tree)
bough (any of the larger branches of a tree)
Holonyms ("limb" is a part of...):
tree (a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Present simple (first person singular and plural, second person singular and plural, third person plural) of the verb limb
Context examples:
A limb, organ, or other portion of a biologic entity.
(Biologic Entity Part, NCI Thesaurus)
The ascending limb of the U-shaped portion of the renal tubule.
(Ascending Limb of Henle's Loop, NCI Thesaurus)
For clinical purposes this term is also used to refer to the whole superior limb.
(Arm, NCI Thesaurus)
Instead of a typical spike-like structure, the bioreactor treatment resulted in a paddle-like formation closer to a fully formed limb than unaided regeneration could create.
(Scientists Help Frogs to Regenerate Their Limbs with Bioreactor Device, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
An elderly man with a red face and shaking limbs came staggering out at a side door.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Two vivid red spots stood out on one of the white, round limbs.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Dennin cast a practical eye over the preparations, noting the grave, the barrel, the thickness of the rope, and the diameter of the limb over which the rope was passed.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
All was confusion and action, and every moment life and limb were in peril.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
She looked at Martin in horror, and her heavy limbs shrank under the golden stream as though it were burning her.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
I myself have seen two or three candidates break a limb.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
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