limbo means A speculative place or state, thought possibly to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people might exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, specifically those of the saints who died before the advent of Jesus Christ (who occupy the limbo patrum or limbo of the patriarchs or fathers) and those of unbaptized infants (who occupy the limbo infantum or limbo of the infants); (countable) the possible place where each category of souls might exist, r.
limbo is pronounced /ˈlɪmbəʊ/.
Why “limbo” is a great word
A state or place of neglect, oblivion, or unresolved transition, derived from the theological concept of a border region for souls barred from heaven. From Middle English limbo, from Latin limbō (ablative of limbus, "border, edge, hem"), of uncertain further origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *lemb- ("to hang limply"). Unlike purgatory, which denotes a state of temporary punishment and purification, or abeyance, which is a suspension with an expectation of resumption, limbo is a condition of eternal, static deferral—neither progress nor pain. It is the holding pattern of an airport at three a.m., the unopened letter yellowing on a hall table, the project folder left perpetually at ninety-five percent complete; the quiet tragedy of being forgotten by both history and hope.
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English limbo, lymbo (“place where innocent souls exist temporarily until they can enter heaven”), from Latin limbō, the ablative singular of limbus (“border, edge; hem; fringe, tassel”) (notably in expressions like in limbō (“in limbo”) and e limbō (“out of limbo”)); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *lemb- (“to hang limply or loosely”), from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang down loosely (?)”). Doublet of limp.
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun
- A speculative place or state, thought possibly to be on the edge of the bottomless pit of Hell, where the souls of innocent deceased people might exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, specifically those of the saints who died before the advent of Jesus Christ (who occupy the limbo patrum or limbo of the patriarchs or fathers) and those of unbaptized infants (who occupy the limbo infantum or limbo of the infants); (countable) the possible place where each category of souls might exist, r“Of vvhat texte thou proveſt hell / vvill a nother prove purgatory / a nother lymbo patrum / and a nother the aſſumpcion of oure ladi: And a nother ſhall prove of the ſame texte that an Ape hath a tayle.”
- Chiefly preceded by in: any in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status.“My passport application has been stuck in bureaucratic limbo for two weeks.”
- Jail, prison; (countable) a jail cell or lockup.“Adr[iana]. VVhere is thy Maſter Dromio? Is he vvell? / S. Dro. [Dromio of Syracuse] No, he's in Tartar limbo, vvorſe then hell: […] / S. Dro. I doe not knovv the matter, hee is reſted [i.e., arrested] on the caſe. / Adr. VVhat is he arreſted? tell me at vvhoſe ſuite?”
- Synonym of Hades or Hell.“Nor quite of future Povv'r himſelf bereft, / But Limbo's large for Unbelievers left.”
- Synonym of pawn (“the state of something being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge”).“[…] I let him have all my ready Mony to redeem his great Svvord from Limbo— […]”
- A type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels.
- A competitive dance originating from Trinidad and Tobago in which dancers take turns to cross under a horizontal bar while bending backwards. The bar is lowered with each round, and the competition is won by the dancer who passes under the bar in the lowest position without dislodging it or falling down.“Every limbo boy and girl / All around the limbo world / Gonna do the limbo rock / All around the limbo clock / Jack be limbo, Jack be quick / Jack go under limbo stick / All around the limbo clock / Hey, let's do the limbo rock”
verb
- To place (someone or something) in an in-between place, or condition or state, of neglect or oblivion which results in deadlock, delay, or some other unresolved status.“[A]s your doctrine is exceedingly evil, by Yamjamma's theory it follows, that you must be proportionably bedeviled; and since it harms others, your devil is of the number of those whom it is best to limbo; and since he is one of those that can be limboed, limboed he shall be in you.”
- To dance the limbo (etymology 2, noun etymology 2, noun sense 1).“Steve Becker was rolling around with the other skaters at the Pismo Beach, Calif. roller rink one day when it was announced that there would be a limbo contest. […] Steve had his friends set the bar lower and lower while he got flatter and flatter, until finally, at just over a foot and almost spread-eagled, he reached his limboing limit.”
- Often followed by under: to pass under something, especially while bending backwards.“How low can you go? Technology stocks limboed lower and lower last week as investors danced to the profit-taking beat.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- purgatory 85% match — Any situation where suffering is endured, particularly as part of a process of redemption. vs limbo →
- bardo 84% match — The state of existence between death and subsequent reincarnation. vs limbo →
- liminality 83% match — The fact of being on the border of, or in between, two states. vs limbo →
- liminal 83% match — Of or pertaining to an entrance or threshold. vs limbo →
- barzakh 82% match — A place separating the living from the hereafter; a phase between death and resurrection. vs limbo →
- intermundium 81% match — A space between worlds. vs limbo →
- preeternity 81% match — An infinite previous duration, an eternity in the past. vs limbo →
- abeyance 81% match — Expectancy; a condition when an ownership of real property is undetermined; lapse in succession of ownership of estate, or title. vs limbo →