limber
limber Lexical Profile
limber Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Capable of moving, bending, or stretching easily; physically supple and agile.
"Years of practicing yoga kept her muscles remarkably limber well into her seventies."
• verb
To make or become supple and flexible by stretching or warming up in preparation for physical exertion (often used with 'up').
"The dancers spent twenty minutes backstage to limber their muscles before the curtain rose."
To attach a gun carriage to its wheeled front support in preparation for towing.
"The crew moved quickly to limber the field piece before moving to the next ridge."
• noun
A detachable two-wheeled cart or front part of a gun carriage used to support the trail of an artillery piece and attach it to horses or a towing vehicle.
"The historical museum displayed a restored nineteenth-century cannon hitched to its wooden limber."
A drainage hole or channel cut through the floor timbers of a ship's hull to allow bilge water to flow freely to the pump well.
"The shipwright inspected the limbers along the keel to ensure they were clear of debris."
• Rhymes for limber
Word Origin & Etymology
The adjective dates from the mid-16th century, possibly related to 'limb' or derived from the dialectal noun 'limber' meaning the shaft of a cart. The artillery noun sense comes from French 'limonière', denoting a carriage with shafts, from 'limon' (shaft).