limits
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lim·it
(lĭm′ĭt)n.
1. The point, edge, or line beyond which something ends, may not go, or is not allowed: the 12-mile fishing limit; the limit of my patience.
2. limits The boundary surrounding a specific area; bounds: within the city limits.
3. Something that restricts or restrains; a restraint: The child needs to have limits put on his behavior.
4. The greatest or least amount, number, or extent allowed or possible: a withdrawal limit of $200; no minimum age limit.
5. Games The largest amount which may be bet at one time in games of chance.
6. Abbr. lim Mathematics
a. A number or point L that is approached by a function f(x) as x approaches a if, for every positive number ε, there exists a number δ such that │f(x)-L│ < ε if │x-a│ < δ.
b. A number or point L that is approached by a sequence bn if, for every positive number ε, there exists a number N such that │bn-L│ < ε if n > N. Also called limit point.
7. Informal One that is intolerable, remarkable, or extreme in some other way: "That's the limit!" the babysitter exclaimed after the child spilled a glass of milk.
tr.v. lim·it·ed, lim·it·ing, lim·its
To confine or restrict with a limit: Let's limit the discussion to what is doable. The offer limits us to three for a dollar.
[Middle English limite, from Old French, border, from Latin līmes, līmit-, border, limit.]
lim′it·a·ble adj.
Synonyms: limit, restrict, confine, circumscribe
These verbs mean to establish or keep within specified bounds. Limit refers principally to the establishment of a maximum beyond which a person or thing cannot or may not go: The Constitution limits the president's term of office to four years. To restrict is to keep within prescribed limits, as of choice or action: The sale of alcohol is restricted to people who are 21 and older. Confine suggests imprisonment, restraint, or impediment: The children were confined to the nursery. Circumscribe connotes an encircling or surrounding line that confines, especially narrowly: "A man ... should not circumscribe his activity by any inflexible fence of rigid rules" (John Stuart Blackie).
These verbs mean to establish or keep within specified bounds. Limit refers principally to the establishment of a maximum beyond which a person or thing cannot or may not go: The Constitution limits the president's term of office to four years. To restrict is to keep within prescribed limits, as of choice or action: The sale of alcohol is restricted to people who are 21 and older. Confine suggests imprisonment, restraint, or impediment: The children were confined to the nursery. Circumscribe connotes an encircling or surrounding line that confines, especially narrowly: "A man ... should not circumscribe his activity by any inflexible fence of rigid rules" (John Stuart Blackie).
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.
limits
- determiner - A word that limits or indicates the scope of a noun.
- modifier, qualifier - A word or phrase that limits or qualifies the sense of another is a modifier or qualifier.
- temper - Originally a proportionate mixture, is from Latin temperare, "to mix correctly; regulate" or "to keep within limits."
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
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