1
a
: something that bounds, restrains, or confines
the age limit for junior golf
b
: the utmost extent
pushed her body to the limit
2
a
: a geographic or political boundary
b
limits plural
: the place enclosed within a boundary : bounds
into the limits of the North they came—
John Milton
John Milton3
: limitation
the sadness is without limit—William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare4
: a determining feature or differentia in logic
5
: a prescribed maximum or minimum amount, quantity, or number: such as
a
: the maximum quantity of game or fish that may be taken legally in a specified period
b
: a maximum established for a gambling bet, raise, or payoff
6
a
: a number whose numerical difference from a mathematical function is arbitrarily small for all values of the independent variables that are sufficiently close to but not equal to given prescribed numbers or that are sufficiently large positively or negatively
b
: a number that for an infinite sequence of numbers is such that ultimately each of the remaining terms of the sequence differs from this number by less than any given positive amount
7
: something that is exasperating or intolerable
We've had bad weather, but this is the limit.
limited; limiting; limits
2
a
: to restrict the bounds or limits of
the specialist can no longer limit himself to his specialty
b
: to curtail or reduce in quantity or extent
we must limit the power of aggressors
limiter
noun
Synonyms
Examples of limit in a Sentence
Noun
He has reached the limit of his endurance.
In training, she pushed her body to its physical limits.
He tries to be creative within the limits of conventional journalism.
There are limits to what I can put up with from him!
Verb
We need to find ways to limit expenses.
He tried to limit the damage to his reputation by blaming other people.
A factor limiting our country's economic performance is its lack of resources.
Our lack of money limits our options.
Because of our lack of money, we have to limit ourselves to fewer options.
Recent Examples on the WebPatrick Martin, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
There is a limit of five per order and the offer is only valid on Thursday, April 4.
—Mike Snider, The Arizona Republic, 4 Apr. 2024
Germany -- one of the European Union's largest importers of hunting trophies -- proposed introducing stricter limits on the imports of hunting trophies, citing concerns over poaching.
—Emma Ogao, ABC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Patience might be a virtue – and it’s rewarded here – but with viewers enjoying so many options, there are limits.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
Some have simply moved on after so many years and are open to his argument that there should be limits to human justice.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Just days after the shooting, Missouri Democrats filed a slew of proposals that would allow Kansas City and other local governments to set stricter limits on guns.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
About 90% of cases where local water systems exceeded these limits never got reported to the federal government, according to EPA audits.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
These young women were not the only Chinese peers who spoke with me about closure and stasis, and about the hard limits curtailing their dreams.
—Christina Knight, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2024
Ewa Krukowska, Fortune Europe, 5 Apr. 2024
This could include, but is not limited to, major vermin contamination.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024
After all, why limit your customer base to the world’s roughly 2,640 billionaires?
—Linda Laban, Robb Report, 4 Apr. 2024
At least 58 million birds were slaughtered last year to limit the spread of the virus.
—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
Severe symptoms include chronic pain and may limit the ability to eat, sleep, or talk.
—Anna Werner, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024
Their defense, which held four of their past six opponents below 100 points, limited the red-hot Jalen Green to 13 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
The amount of available training data may be a limiting factor, although Heim points out there could be ways around this, such as training on more kinds of data and showing the models the same data multiple times.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
That said, the ship never felt crowded, in part because A&K limits capacity for its tours, meaning that some rooms go deliberately unfilled.
—David Swanson, Travel + Leisure, 24 Mar. 2024
Noun
There is a limit to how much THC the plant can produce, although manufacturers are finding clever ways to boost the chemical, Cooper said.
—Patrick Martin, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
There is a limit of five per order and the offer is only valid on Thursday, April 4.
—Mike Snider, The Arizona Republic, 4 Apr. 2024
Germany -- one of the European Union's largest importers of hunting trophies -- proposed introducing stricter limits on the imports of hunting trophies, citing concerns over poaching.
—Emma Ogao, ABC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Patience might be a virtue – and it’s rewarded here – but with viewers enjoying so many options, there are limits.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
Some have simply moved on after so many years and are open to his argument that there should be limits to human justice.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Just days after the shooting, Missouri Democrats filed a slew of proposals that would allow Kansas City and other local governments to set stricter limits on guns.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
About 90% of cases where local water systems exceeded these limits never got reported to the federal government, according to EPA audits.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
These young women were not the only Chinese peers who spoke with me about closure and stasis, and about the hard limits curtailing their dreams.
—Christina Knight, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2024
Verb
In a paper in March, the EU said Europe will be 3 degrees celsius hotter even if the world succeeds in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels, causing trillions of euros of damage to the economy.
—Ewa Krukowska, Fortune Europe, 5 Apr. 2024
This could include, but is not limited to, major vermin contamination.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024
After all, why limit your customer base to the world’s roughly 2,640 billionaires?
—Linda Laban, Robb Report, 4 Apr. 2024
At least 58 million birds were slaughtered last year to limit the spread of the virus.
—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
Severe symptoms include chronic pain and may limit the ability to eat, sleep, or talk.
—Anna Werner, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024
Their defense, which held four of their past six opponents below 100 points, limited the red-hot Jalen Green to 13 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
The amount of available training data may be a limiting factor, although Heim points out there could be ways around this, such as training on more kinds of data and showing the models the same data multiple times.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
That said, the ship never felt crowded, in part because A&K limits capacity for its tours, meaning that some rooms go deliberately unfilled.
—David Swanson, Travel + Leisure, 24 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'limit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing limit
Dictionary Entries Near limit
Cite this Entry
“Limit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/limit. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
limit
2 of 2 verb
: to set limits to : keep within limits
limit expenses
management reserves the right to limit quantities
an adjective limits the meaning of a noun
More from Merriam-Webster on limit
Nglish: Translation of limit for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of limit for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about limit
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