lime
1 Americannoun
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the small, greenish-yellow, acid fruit of a citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, allied to the lemon.
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the tree that bears this fruit.
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greenish yellow.
adjective
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of the color lime.
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of or made with limes.
noun
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Also called caustic lime,. Also called calcium oxide. Also called calx, quicklime. Also called burnt lime;. a white or grayish-white, odorless, lumpy, very slightly water-soluble solid, CaO, that when combined with water forms calcium hydroxide slaked lime, obtained from calcium carbonate, limestone, or oyster shells: used chiefly in mortars, plasters, and cements, in bleaching powder, and in the manufacture of steel, paper, glass, and various chemicals of calcium.
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a calcium compound for improving crops grown in soils deficient in lime.
noun
noun
noun
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short for quicklime birdlime slaked lime
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agriculture any of certain calcium compounds, esp calcium hydroxide, spread as a dressing on lime-deficient land
verb
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to spread (twigs, etc) with birdlime
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to spread a calcium compound upon (land) to improve plant growth
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to catch (animals, esp birds) with or as if with birdlime
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to whitewash or cover (a wall, ceiling, etc) with a mixture of lime and water ( limewash )
noun
noun
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a small Asian citrus tree, Citrus aurantifolia, with stiff sharp spines and small round or oval greenish fruits
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the fruit of this tree, having acid fleshy pulp rich in vitamin C
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( as modifier )
lime juice
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adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
- limeless adjective
- limelike adjective
- unlimed adjective
Etymology
Origin of lime1
First recorded in 1615–25; from Spanish lima, from Arabic līmah, līm “citrus fruit,” from Persian līmū(n); lemon
Origin of lime2
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English līm; cognate with Dutch lijm, German Leim, Old Norse līm “glue,” Latin līmus “slime”; akin to loam
Origin of lime3
First recorded in 1615–25; unexplained variant of obsolete line, lind, Middle English, Old English lind; linden
Origin of lime4
Shortened form
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.
Some superfans came in Publix-branded flip-flops and shirts, while others were eager to get a “pub sub” or the chain’s signature key lime pie.
Twig's also makes its own-name range of fruit sodas, from root beer to black cherry, and orange to lime.
From BBC
He crossed the border illegally sometime before he turned 20, making the migrant’s journey north from the avocado and lime orchards that surround his family’s small town in the state of Michoacán.
From Los Angeles Times
Special dishwasher salt, meanwhile, helps to "soften the water preventing lime scale build up and those horrid white marks on glasses."
From BBC
“Vitamin C, zinc, key lime. I do my bees and my glutathione, and then I do my black walnuts because that’s a part of helping kill the parasites in the body.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
