hobble

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

hob·ble

(hŏb′əl)

v. hob·bled, hob·bling, hob·bles

v.intr.

To walk or move along haltingly or with difficulty; limp.

v.tr.

1. To put a device around the legs of (a horse, for example) so as to hamper but not prevent movement.

2. To cause to limp.

3. To hamper the action or progress of; impede.

1. A hobbling walk or gait.

2. A device, such as a rope or strap, used to hobble an animal.

[Middle English hobblen, of Low German origin; akin to Middle Dutch hobbelen, to roll.]

hob′bler n.

Synonyms: hobble, fetter, handcuff, hogtie, manacle, shackle
These verbs mean to restrict the activity or free movement of: a graduate hobbled by debt; researchers fettered by outmoded thinking; entrepreneurs handcuffed by rigid regulations; leadership that refused to be hogtied; imagination manacled by fear; an artist shackled by convention.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hobble

(ˈhɒbəl)

1. (intr) to walk with a lame awkward movement

2. (Horse Training, Riding & Manège) (tr) to fetter the legs of (a horse) in order to restrict movement

3. to progress unevenly or with difficulty

4. (tr) to hamper or restrict (the actions or scope of a person, organization, etc)

5. (Horse Training, Riding & Manège) a strap, rope, etc, used to hobble a horse

6. a limping gait

7. dialect Brit a difficult or embarrassing situation

8. (Animals) a castrated ferret

Also (for senses 2, 5): hopple

[C14: probably from Low German; compare Flemish hoppelen, Middle Dutch hobbelen to stammer]

ˈhobbler n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hob•ble

(ˈhɒb əl)

v. -bled, -bling,
n. v.i.

1. to walk lamely; limp.

2. to proceed irregularly and haltingly.

v.t.

3. to cause to limp.

4. to fasten together the legs of (a horse, mule, etc.) by short lengths of rope to prevent free motion.

5. to impede; hamper the progress of.

6. an act of hobbling; an uneven, halting gait; a limp.

7. a rope, strap, etc., used to hobble an animal.

8. Archaic. an awkward or difficult situation.

[1300–50; Middle English hobelen]

hob′bler, n.

hobble

Past participle: hobbled
Gerund: hobbling

Imperative
hobble
hobble

Present
I hobble
you hobble
he/she/it hobbles
we hobble
you hobble
they hobble

Preterite
I hobbled
you hobbled
he/she/it hobbled
we hobbled
you hobbled
they hobbled

Present Continuous
I am hobbling
you are hobbling
he/she/it is hobbling
we are hobbling
you are hobbling
they are hobbling

Present Perfect
I have hobbled
you have hobbled
he/she/it has hobbled
we have hobbled
you have hobbled
they have hobbled

Past Continuous
I was hobbling
you were hobbling
he/she/it was hobbling
we were hobbling
you were hobbling
they were hobbling

Past Perfect
I had hobbled
you had hobbled
he/she/it had hobbled
we had hobbled
you had hobbled
they had hobbled

Future
I will hobble
you will hobble
he/she/it will hobble
we will hobble
you will hobble
they will hobble

Future Perfect
I will have hobbled
you will have hobbled
he/she/it will have hobbled
we will have hobbled
you will have hobbled
they will have hobbled

Future Continuous
I will be hobbling
you will be hobbling
he/she/it will be hobbling
we will be hobbling
you will be hobbling
they will be hobbling

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been hobbling
you have been hobbling
he/she/it has been hobbling
we have been hobbling
you have been hobbling
they have been hobbling

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been hobbling
you will have been hobbling
he/she/it will have been hobbling
we will have been hobbling
you will have been hobbling
they will have been hobbling

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been hobbling
you had been hobbling
he/she/it had been hobbling
we had been hobbling
you had been hobbling
they had been hobbling

Conditional
I would hobble
you would hobble
he/she/it would hobble
we would hobble
you would hobble
they would hobble

Past Conditional
I would have hobbled
you would have hobbled
he/she/it would have hobbled
we would have hobbled
you would have hobbled
they would have hobbled

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	hobble - a shackle for the ankles or feet fetter hamper, shackle, trammel, bond - a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner)
	2.	hobble - the uneven manner of walking that results from an injured leg limp, hitch gait - a person's manner of walking
Verb	1.	hobble - walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury; "The old woman hobbles down to the store every day" limp, hitch walk - use one's feet to advance; advance by steps; "Walk, don't run!"; "We walked instead of driving"; "She walks with a slight limp"; "The patient cannot walk yet"; "Walk over to the cabinet"
	2.	hobble - hamper the action or progress of; "The chairman was hobbled by the all-powerful dean" hinder, impede - be a hindrance or obstacle to; "She is impeding the progress of our project"
	3.	hobble - strap the foreleg and hind leg together on each side (of a horse) in order to keep the legs on the same side moving in unison; "hobble race horses" hopple strap - tie with a strap

hobble

verb

1. limp, stagger, stumble, shuffle, falter, shamble, totter, dodder, halt He got up slowly and hobbled over to the table.

2. restrict, hamstring, shackle, fetter The poverty of 10 million citizens hobbles our economy.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

hobble

verb

1. To walk in a lame way:

halt, hitch, limp.

2. To restrict the activity or free movement of:

chain, fetter, hamper, hamstring, handcuff, leash, manacle, shackle, tie, trammel.

Informal: hog-tie.

noun

Something that physically confines the legs or arms:

bond, chain (used in plural), fetter, handcuff (often used in plural), iron (used in plural), manacle, restraint, shackle.

Archaic: gyve.

Translations

يَعْرُجُ

kulhat

humpe

humpeln

πεδικλώνω

abot traîner la jambe

haltra

impastoiare zoppicare

klibikščiuotišlubuoti

klibot

halte hinke humpe

ковылять

蹒跚

hobble

[ˈhɒbl]

A. N

1. (= lameness) → cojera f
to walk with a hobble → cojear

2. (= rope) → maniota f

B. VT [+ horse] → manear

C. VI (also to hobble along) → cojear, andar cojeando
to hobble to the door → ir cojeando a la puerta

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

hobble

[ˈhɒb^əl] vi (= walk awkwardly) → se déplacer en boitillant
He hobbled over to the window → Il se déplaça en boitillant jusqu'à la fenêtre.
to hobble around → clopiner
Now he must hobble around on crutches for six weeks → Maintenant, il va devoir clopiner sur des béquilles pendant six semaines.

hobble

vi → humpeln, hinken; to hobble in/out → herein-/hinaushumpeln

horse → Fußfesseln anlegen (+dat), → die Vorderbeine fesseln (+dat)

(fig) person, company → einschränken, behindern; economy → lahmlegen

n (for horses) → Fußfessel f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

hobble

[ˈhɒbl] vi → zoppicare
to hobble in/out → entrare/uscire zoppicando

hobble

(ˈhobl) verb

to walk with difficulty, usually taking short steps (eg because one is lame or because one's feet are sore). The old lady hobbled along with a stick.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

So, recovering from his first fear, Tip began to laugh; and the merry peals reached old Mombi's ears and made her hobble quickly to the hedge, where she seized Tip's collar and dragged him back to where she had left her basket and the pumpkinheaded man.

View in context

I am privileged, because I am known to be honorable and trustworthy, and because I have a distinguished record in the service; so they don't hobble me nor tie me to stakes or shut me tight in stables, but let me wander around to suit myself.

I knew you must be a person of distinction, by your fine presence and courtly address, and by the fact that you are not subjected to the indignity of hobbles, like myself and the rest.

View in context

So Little John was made fast to the gallows-tree, while the Sheriff and all his men who could march or hobble went out to get Robin Hood and bring him in for the double hanging.

View in context

It was not long before the hyaenodon's leg was suffi-ciently mended to permit him to rise and hobble about on three legs.

View in context

Every man is provided with a picket with an iron head, a mallet, and hobbles, or leathern fetters for the horses.

View in context

Their floors were intentionally kept low because women in New York, at that time, would wear hobble skirts which were quite narrow below the knees.

A case for trams in jostling Karachi

He said yesterday: "Actually, today is the first day I haven't had a hobble. I was hobbling for about nine or 10 days."

Star Gerard: I'm a master of disaster

Detective Constable Paul Stephenson said: "The man was seen to hobble away in obvious pain.

Milkman's mugger 'could be injured'

Rather than kidnap or kill these dissidents, the leadership of the company let the full force of the bureaucracy hobble their every move, and forced them to work outside the system.

Conspiracy theories

The agreement under which AG Properties assumes management of the Holly Hobble licensing program that was previously run by Nickelodeon says as much about the relative direction of both companies as about the property itself.

AG Properties brings Holly Hobbie back inside

Freedom from undue regulation is a huge asset for homeschoolers, and we should be vigilant against those who might hobble the movement to make it bigger.

Homeschooling Alone

CITE

Site: Follow: Share:

Open / Close