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limbo

1 American  
[lim-boh] / ˈlɪm boʊ /

noun

plural

limbos

  1. (often initial capital letter) a region on the border of hell or heaven, serving as the abode after death of unbaptized infants limbo of infants and of the righteous who died before the coming of Christ limbo of the fathers, or limbo of the patriarchs.

  2. a place or state of oblivion to which persons or things are regarded as being relegated when cast aside, forgotten, past, or out of date.

    My youthful hopes are in the limbo of lost dreams.

  3. an intermediate, transitional, or midway state or place.

  4. a place or state of imprisonment or confinement.

limbo 2 American  
[lim-boh] / ˈlɪm boʊ /

noun

plural

limbos

  1. a dance from the West Indies, originally for men only, in which the dancer bends backward from the knees and moves with a shuffling step under a horizontal bar that is lowered after each successive pass.

limbo 1 British  
/ ˈlɪmbəʊ /

noun

  1. (often capital) RC Church the supposed abode of infants dying without baptism and the just who died before Christ

  2. an imaginary place for lost, forgotten, or unwanted persons or things

  3. an unknown intermediate place or condition between two extremes

    in limbo

  4. a prison or confinement

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
limbo 2 British  
/ ˈlɪmbəʊ /

noun

  1. a Caribbean dance in which dancers pass, while leaning backwards, under a bar

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
limbo Cultural  

  1. In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the afterlife, the condition of innocent persons who die without benefit of baptism; those in limbo do not suffer damnation, but they do not enjoy the presence of God. Limbo means “a bordering place.”

limbo Idioms  

  1. see in limbo.

Discover More

Figuratively, “limbo” is a state of nonresolution or uncertainty: “Until he receives notice of his new posting, he'll be in limbo.”

Etymology

Origin of limbo1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Medieval Latin phrase in limbō “on hell's border” ( Latin: “on the edge”), from Latin in “in, on” + limbō, ablative of limbus “edge, border”

Origin of limbo2

First recorded in 1955–60; of disputed origin; perhaps compare Jamaican English limba “to bend; easily bending”; limber 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The sweet spot —Regan’s words, not mine—was now, when things were essentially in limbo, and we could make the jump back in time untethered by a future that was already set in stone.

From Literature

To many, Iran now seems to be hovering in a tense limbo where everything - and nothing - could change at once.

From BBC

Italian company Leonardo's plant in Yeovil, Somerset, had been left in limbo after a planned visit by Defence Secretary John Healey to award the contract was cancelled on Thursday.

From BBC

That still leaves the oil market in limbo.

From MarketWatch

The federal check now in deferment limbo was supposed to reimburse the state for the federal government’s share of that spending.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.