cripple
verb/ˈkrɪpl/
/ˈkrɪpl/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they cripple | /ˈkrɪpl/ /ˈkrɪpl/ |
| he / she / it cripples | /ˈkrɪplz/ /ˈkrɪplz/ |
| past simple crippled | /ˈkrɪpld/ /ˈkrɪpld/ |
| past participle crippled | /ˈkrɪpld/ /ˈkrɪpld/ |
| -ing form crippling | /ˈkrɪplɪŋ/ /ˈkrɪplɪŋ/ |
- [usually passive] to seriously damage or harm somebody/something
- be crippled (by something) The industry has been financially crippled by these policies.
- Sugar producers have been crippled by plummeting prices.
- The pilot tried to land his crippled plane.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- severely
- financially
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- [usually passive] (old-fashioned, often offensive) to damage somebody’s body so that they cannot walk or move well synonym disable
- be crippled (by something) He was crippled by polio as a child.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- for life
- permanently
- emotionally
- …
- be crippled with
- leave somebody crippled
Word OriginOld English: from two words, crypel and crēopel, both of Germanic origin and related to creep.
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cripple