hobble Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a shackle for the ankles or feet
    fetter.
  2. noun the uneven manner of walking that results from an injured leg
    limp; hitch.
  3. verb walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
    limp; hitch; gimp.
    • The old woman hobbles down to the store every day
  4. verb hamper the action or progress of
    • The chairman was hobbled by the all-powerful dean
  5. verb 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
    hopple.
    • hobble race horses

WordNet

Hob"ble noun i
Etymology
OE. hobelen, hoblen, freq. of hoppen to hop; akin to D. hobbelen, hoblen, hoppeln. See Hop to jump, and cf. Hopple
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Hobbled ; present participle & verbal noun Hobbling
Definitions
  1. To walk lame, bearing chiefly on one leg; to walk with a hitch or hop, or with crutches.
    The friar was hobbling the same way too. Dryden.
  2. To move roughly or irregularly; -- said of style in writing. Prior.
    The hobbling versification, the mean diction. Jeffreys.
Hob"ble transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To fetter by tying the legs; to hopple; to clog. " They hobbled their horses." Dickens
  2. To perplex; to embarrass.
Hob"ble noun
Definitions
  1. An unequal gait; a limp; a halt; as, he has a hobble in his gait. Swift.
  2. Same as Hopple.
  3. Difficulty; perplexity; embarrassment. Waterton.

Webster 1913