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Definition of "handicap" []

  • Sports & Games A race or contest in which contestants are given advantages or compensations to equalize the chances of winning. (noun)
  • Sports & Games Such an advantage or penalty. (noun)
  • A physical or mental disability. See Synonyms at disadvantage. (noun)
  • A hindrance. (noun)
  • Sports & Games To assign handicaps or a handicap to (a contestant). (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "handicap" in a sentence
  • "The main handicap is uncertain rainfall, with the occurrence at irregular intervals of very serious droughts."
  • "Of course, the other handicap is the tendency by some to associate ID theory with the idea that natural science has to be modified to admit supernatural explanations."
  • "In contrast, I seldom enjoy golf while I'm playing it - my handicap is my swing - but in between rounds I've spent a truly massively useless amount of my life thinking about golf, especially golf course architecture."