limb
/lɪm/ (bre, ipa) · /lɪm/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈlim/ (ame, mw)
limb — noun
- limbsingular
- limbsplural
1. Any of the long projecting parts of the human body — the arms and legs — or a si
Any of the long projecting parts of the human body — the arms and legs — or a similar outer body part that an animal uses to move, climb, or hold things.
Mira broke her lower limb in a skiing accident and used crutches for two months.
collocation: lower limb / upper limb
The lizard can grow back a lost limb over several weeks, which fascinates biologists.
collocation: lost limb
After the long race, Christopher's limbs felt so heavy he could barely lift them.
Regular stretching keeps your limbs flexible and helps prevent injuries during exercise.
Ife lost the use of one limb after a serious infection damaged the nerves.
文法句型
[possessive] + limb
limb + of + [person/animal]
用法筆記
When talking about one specific arm or leg, English speakers often use 'arm' or 'leg' rather than 'limb'. The word 'limb' is most common in medical contexts, in plural form ('limbs'), or when the distinction between arm and leg is not important.
常見錯誤
2. One of the thick, strong branches that grow out from the central trunk of a tree
One of the thick, strong branches that grow out from the central trunk of a tree, usually larger and more solid than ordinary twigs.
A strong wind snapped a thick limb off the old oak tree in Paloma's garden.
collocation: snapped a limb / thick limb
The children built a tree house on the lowest limb of the banyan tree.
Mayumi climbed onto a sturdy limb to get a better view of the festival parade.
The gardener cut away a dead limb that could have fallen on the house below.
Birds sat on a high limb and sang loudly every morning at daybreak.
文法句型
limb + of + [tree]
tree + limb
用法筆記
When used for a tree, 'limb' suggests a thick, main branch growing directly from the trunk, whereas 'branch' can refer to any size from a small twig upward. 'Bough' is a near-synonym for a large limb but sounds more literary.
常見錯誤
limb — verb
- limbpresent simple I / you / we / they
- limbs3rd person singular
- limbing-ing form
- limbedpast simple
1. To cut or tear off the arms, legs, or other outer body parts from a body, typica
To cut or tear off the arms, legs, or other outer body parts from a body, typically that of a dead animal during butchery or hunting.
The hunter used a sharp knife to limb the deer before carrying it to camp.
technical register: used in hunting
In some rural areas, butchers learn to limb large animals as part of their training.
technical register: butchery
Traditional hunters in the region limb the animal on the spot to make it lighter to carry.
The instructional guide shows how to limb a deer without damaging the meat.
文法句型
limb + [animal body]
用法筆記
This sense is highly technical or literary. In everyday English, 'dismember' is far more common than 'limb' for this meaning. You will rarely encounter 'limb' used as a verb in general conversation.
2. To remove the large side branches from a tree that has been cut down, as part of
To remove the large side branches from a tree that has been cut down, as part of preparing the wood for transport or further processing.
After cutting down the pines, the workers limbed them before loading the logs.
technical register: forestry
Selim spent the afternoon limbing the felled oaks and stacking the firewood.
The forestry team limbed each fallen trunk before taking it to the sawmill.
A worker with a chainsaw can limb a cut tree in just a few minutes.
文法句型
limb + [felled tree]
用法筆記
A specialised term used in forestry and logging. The more common everyday words for removing branches from a tree are 'prune' (for living trees) or 'trim' (general). This sense only applies after the tree has been cut down.