limitation

UK/lɪmɪˈteɪʃən/US/lɪmɪˈteɪʃən/

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,011 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: limitations

A limitation is a restriction, or a point beyond which you cannot go. Know your limitations, a limitation on spending, the limitations of the method.

In law the limitation period is the time within which a claim must be brought, and once it has run the claim dies whatever its merits. In research, stating the limitations of a study is a requirement rather than a confession.

Definitions of limitation

1nounlimitationA restriction, or a point beyond which you cannot go.B2+
“One limitation of the small car is its tiny boot.”

limitation is a restriction.

Where it comes from

Latin limitatio comes from limes, a boundary.

Latin
limitatio
English, today
limitation

Latin limitatio. Morphologically limit + -ation.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

limitation in the wild

When a statute of limitations expires in a criminal case, the courts no longer have jurisdiction.
Statute of limitations
The cause of action dictates the statute of limitations, which can be reduced or extended in order to ensure a full and fair trial.
Statute of limitations
Exclusion clauses and limitation clauses are terms in a contract which seek to restrict the rights of the parties to the contract.
Exclusion clause
In set theory, the axiom of limitation of size was proposed by John von Neumann in his 1925 axiom system for sets and classes.
Axiom of limitation of size
In 1930, Ernst Zermelo defined models of set theory satisfying the axiom of limitation of size.
Axiom of limitation of size

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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