Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use handicap in a sentence

25 example sentences · noun, verb

Handicap means something that prevents, hampers, or hinders. Example: “Age is often a handicap.”

Examples of handicap by meaning

nounSomething that prevents, hampers, or hinders.

  • Age is often a handicap.
  • He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

nounAn allowance of a certain amount of time or distance in starting, granted in a race (or other contest of skill) to the...

  • The older boy won, even though his opponent had been granted a handicap of five meters.
  • A handicap in chess often involves removal of the queen's rook.
  • It was a sensational race owing to the conduct of the field, but on the handicap the elephant won, bicycle second, motor car third.1901, “Gleanings”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume 4, number 1, page 31

verbTo place at disadvantage.

  • The candidate was handicapped by her lack of experience.

verbTo estimate betting odds.

  • Grandpa Andy would buy the racing form the day ahead of time so he could handicap the race before he even arrived at the track.

More sentences with handicap

  • It's admirable that Shelley overcame her handicap and excelled in her work.From the entry admirable
  • In other words, the assessment process handicaps management by limiting the evolution of bluffable signals.1998, Donald Henry Owings, Eugene S. Morton, Animal vocal communication: a new approach. From the entry bluffable
  • The Ministry of Health deals with schools for debiles with multiple handicaps and for “imbeciles.”1974, Edwin W. Martin, Jr.; Donald Blodgett; Stella A. Edwards; William C. Geer; John W. Melcher, “Administration of Education for…. From the entry debile
  • The answer is, of course, you can't -- not unless you have a handicap.1972, The Golf Journal - Volumes 25-26, page 17. From the entry pedestrian hacker
  • Predictional astrology is, to my personal point of view, both a menace and a handicap.1951, Alice A. Bailey, The Unfinished Autobiography of Alice A. Bailey, page 231. From the entry predictional
  • 'Few are in high positions in business or the government; their religion and its rules are seen as a handicap.2009 December 13, Mark O'Neill, “Faith in the present”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Nov 2023. From the entry Dongxiang
  • Heatful-blooded animals, properly clothed, are not subject to this handicap.2005, David Drake, Eric Flint, Jim Baen, The World Turned Upside Down, →ISBN. From the entry heatful
  • Even children with minor or correctable handicaps such as harelip, cleft palate, crossed eyes, or clubfoot were classed as "unadoptable".1973, Colette Taube Dywasuk, Adoption — Is It for You?. From the entry unadoptable
  • In the Christian life we have a handicap.1972, William Barclay, “The Race and the Goal”, in The Letter to the Hebrews (The Daily Study Bible Series), rev. edition, Louisville…. From the entry pantechnicon
  • If we are encircled by the greatness of the past, we are also encircled by the handicap of our own sin.1972, William Barclay, “The Race and the Goal”, in The Letter to the Hebrews (The Daily Study Bible Series), rev. edition, Louisville…. From the entry pantechnicon
  • This event is a handicap affair and it is necessary to have competitors’ times taken in order to arrange handicaps.1945 December 11, “Polar Bear Swim Dec. 25”, in Victoria Daily Times, volume 107, number 135, Victoria, B.C., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 11…. From the entry polar-bear dip
  • Nevertheless there is a certain handicap to the child who has been snubbed, mocked, jeered, wet blanketed and undervalued.1911, American Motherhood - Volumes 32-33, page 311. From the entry wet blanket
  • Indeed, over-boldness may be a handicap.1999 December 19, Simon Caulkin, The Observer. From the entry overboldness
  • During the course of the morning it will hold a stableford (four handicap) competition and in the afternoon a Greensome (half combined handicap) competition.1983, The Law Society Gazette, volume 80, number 2, page 1699. From the entry stableford
  • In fact the latter are likely to develop muscles of the kind and strength that may even be a handicap to the Nth degree basketballer.1967, Greyson Daughtrey, Methods in Physical Education and Health for Secondary Schools, page 73. From the entry basketballer
  • A Wop has to overcome more handicaps than a pure Anglo-Saxon, therefore he has to run twice as fast, or else he will be treated forever as a Wop.1999, Salvatore John LaGumina, Wop!: A Documentary History of Anti-Italian Discrimination in the United States, Guernica Editions, →ISBN…. From the entry wop
  • Seeks companion with similar invisible handicap or circumstance which forced early awareness of mortality and is consequently very serious about life and has little time for superficiality.1980 August 30, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 6, page 14. From the entry superficiality
  • We haven’t tapped the soil and seed experts on this, but it might be the modern way of treating soil puts a handicap on the buckwheat seed when it’s sown.1952 February 13, “News Nibs”, in The Dunn County News, volume VIIIC, number 46, Menomonie, Wis., page one, column 2. From the entry buckwheaty

Meaning of handicap

  1. noun Something that prevents, hampers, or hinders.
  2. noun An allowance of a certain amount of time or distance in starting, granted in a race (or other contest of skill) to the competitor possessing disadvantages; or an additional weight or other hindrance imposed upon the one possessing advantages, in order to equalize, as much as possible, the chances of success.
  3. noun An individual's physical or mental disadvantage or disability.

Full definition of handicap

Questions about handicap in a sentence

How do you use handicap in a sentence?
Handicap is used as a noun and verb. For example: “Age is often a handicap.”
What is a short sentence with handicap?
“Age is often a handicap.”
What does handicap mean?
Handicap means something that prevents, hampers, or hinders.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: handicap (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use handicap in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/handicap. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.