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.

• "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."