noun

limbo

LIHM-boh

noun

A state of being stuck between two situations, with no clear resolution or progress.

"The project has been in limbo since the funding was frozen."

In some Christian traditions, an in-between afterlife state for souls who are neither in heaven nor hell.

"Medieval theologians debated the nature of limbo."

A dance in which participants bend backward to pass beneath a bar that is progressively lowered.

"Everyone at the party had a go at the limbo."

How to Use Limbo

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishStuck in an uncertain, unresolved in-between state — or, separately, the backward-bending party dance.

Common pairings

in limbo legal limbo play limbo

limboed past tense, limboed past tense, limbos plural, limboes plural, limbos plural, limbos singular, limbos singular

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The project has been in _____ since the funding was frozen.

From Latin limbus ("border, edge"), via the phrase in limbo. The dance sense is unrelated in origin, from Trinidad and Tobago.

bimbo Jimbo