HANDICAPPED

disabled, handicapped

(adjective) having restricted mental or physical functioning as a consequence of injury or illness

disabled, handicapped

(noun) people collectively who are crippled or otherwise physically handicapped; “technology to help the elderly and the disabled”

HANDICAP

disable, invalid, incapacitate, handicap

(verb) injure permanently; “He was disabled in a car accident”

handicap, hinder, hamper

(verb) put at a disadvantage; “The brace I have to wear is hindering my movements”

handicap

(verb) attempt to forecast the winner (especially in a horse race) and assign odds for or against a contestant

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Verb

handicapped

simple past tense and past participle of handicap

Adjective

handicapped (comparative more handicapped, superlative most handicapped)

Having a handicap.

(derogatory) Limited by an impediment of some kind.

Usage notes

Many people advise against describing a disabled person as being handicapped.

Noun

handicapped (plural handicappeds)

(India) A disabled person.

Source: Wiktionary


HANDICAP

Hand"i*cap, n. Etym: [From hand in cap; -- perh. in reference to an old mode of setting a bargain by taking pieces of money from a cap.]

1. An allowance of a certain amount of time or distance in starting, granted in a race to the competitor possessing inferior advantages; or an additional weight or other hindrance imposed upon the one possessing superior advantages, in order to equalize, as much as possible, the chances of success; as, the handicap was five seconds, or ten pounds, and the like.

2. A race, for horses or men, or any contest of agility, strength, or skill, in which there is an allowance of time, distance, weight, or other advantage, to equalize the chances of the competitors.

3. An old game at cards. [Obs.] Pepys.

Hand"i*cap, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Handicapped; p. pr. & vb. n. Handicapping.]

Definition: To encumber with a handicap in any contest; hence, in general, to place at disadvantage; as, the candidate was heavily handicapped.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 July 2025

SENSE

(noun) the faculty through which the external world is apprehended; “in the dark he had to depend on touch and on his senses of smell and hearing”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

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