hobble
verb /ˈhɒbl/
/ˈhɑːbl/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they hobble | /ˈhɒbl/ /ˈhɑːbl/ |
| he / she / it hobbles | /ˈhɒblz/ /ˈhɑːblz/ |
| past simple hobbled | /ˈhɒbld/ /ˈhɑːbld/ |
| past participle hobbled | /ˈhɒbld/ /ˈhɑːbld/ |
| -ing form hobbling | /ˈhɒblɪŋ/ /ˈhɑːblɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) to walk with difficulty, especially because your feet or legs hurt synonym limp
- The old man hobbled across the road.
- She was hobbling around on crutches.
Extra ExamplesTopics Illnessc2- He was still hobbling around with a stick.
- She hobbled painfully home.
- an old lady hobbling down the road
- He used to hobble around the yard on crutches.
- I hobbled off to find my missing shoe.
- She hobbled painfully back to the hut.
- [transitive] hobble something to tie together two legs of a horse or other animal in order to stop it from running away
- The horse’s hind legs had been hobbled.
- [transitive] hobble something to make it more difficult for somebody to do something or for something to happen
- Our work is hobbled by the amount of bureaucracy involved.
Word OriginMiddle English: probably of Dutch or Low German origin and related to Dutch hobbelen ‘rock from side to side’.