a race or other contest in which certain disadvantages or advantages of weight, distance, time, etc., are placed upon competitors to equalize their chances of winning.
the disadvantage or advantage itself.
any disadvantage that makes success more difficult: The main handicap of our business is lack of capital.
Sometimes Offensive. a physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult.
verb (used with object),hand·i·capped,hand·i·cap·ping.
to place at a disadvantage; disable or burden: He was handicapped by his injured ankle.
to subject to a disadvantageous handicap, as a competitor of recognized superiority.
to assign handicaps to (competitors).
Sports.
to attempt to predict the winner of (a contest, especially a horse race), as by comparing past performances of the contestants.
to assign odds for or against (any particular contestant) to win a contest or series of contests: He handicapped the Yankees at 2-to-1 to take the series from the Cardinals.
Origin of handicap
1640–50; 1870–75 for def. 8; originally hand i' cap hand in cap, referring to a drawing before a horse race
SYNONYMS FOR handicap
5 hinder, impede, cripple, incapacitate.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR handicap ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR handicap
5 aid, assist, help.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR handicap ON THESAURUS.COM
OTHER WORDS FROM handicap
non·hand·i·cap,nouno·ver·hand·i·cap,verb (used with object),o·ver·hand·i·capped,o·ver·hand·i·cap·ping.pre·hand·i·cap,noun,verb (used with object),pre·hand·i·capped,pre·hand·i·cap·ping.
Unprepared, and a laughingstock because of his handicap, Yarvi is bullied on every front—even by his mother.
A Fantasy Titan Invades the YA Kingdom|William O’Connor|July 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If the rest of us have had trouble catching up to Robespierre and crew, well, we are starting from a bit of a handicap.
Why Deny the Obvious: Hollywood’s Backward Stance on Abortion|Teo Bugbee|June 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The handicap, after some needling back and forth, was fixed at eight strokes.
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man|John Lardner|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Otherwise, according to Mom, intelligence could handicap a woman.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’|Eileen Cronin|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The last name is obviously a handicap, though perhaps not as much now as last cycle.
The Governors Who Could Beat Christie|Michelle Cottle|November 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Thus the very decency of the native is a handicap to success and to fecundity.
The Old World in the New|Edward Alsworth Ross
In a measure this was true, and Randall was under somewhat of a handicap in this respect.
The Eight-Oared Victors|Lester Chadwick
To what extent is the success of stained glass windows due to a lessening of this handicap?
Visual Illusions|Matthew Luckiesh
An unwillingness to toe the scratch under the handicap of having his neighbors know it is his second trial.
A Virginia Scout|Hugh Pendexter
Muskwa followed him now, and he had some trouble in properly navigating himself under the handicap of his added weight.
The Grizzly King|James Oliver Curwood
British Dictionary definitions for handicap
handicap
/ (ˈhændɪˌkæp) /
noun
something that hampers or hinders
a contest, esp a race, in which competitors are given advantages or disadvantages of weight, distance, time, etc, in an attempt to equalize their chances of winning
the advantage or disadvantage prescribed
golfthe number of strokes by which a player's averaged score exceeds the standard scratch score for the particular course: used as the basis for handicapping in competitive play
any physical disability or disadvantage resulting from physical, mental, or social impairment or abnormality
verb-caps, -cappingor-capped(tr)
to be a hindrance or disadvantage to
to assign a handicap or handicaps to
to organize (a contest) by handicapping
US and Canadian
to attempt to forecast the winner of (a contest, esp a horse race)
to assign odds for or against (a contestant)
Word Origin for handicap
C17: probably from hand in cap, a lottery game in which players drew forfeits from a cap or deposited money in it