lim·bo
ˈlim-(ˌ)bō 
plural limbos
1
often capitalized
: an abode of souls that are according to Roman Catholic theology barred from heaven because of not having received Christian baptism
2
a
: a place or state of restraint or confinement
trapping travelers in an airless limbo—
Sam Boal
Sam Boal
b
: a place or state of neglect or oblivion
proposals kept in limbo
c
: an intermediate or transitional place or state
the adolescent occupies a special human limbo—New Republic
New Republic
d
: a state of uncertainty
The graduate was in limbo for a while, trying to decide what to do next.
plural limbos
: a dance or contest that involves bending over backwards and passing under a horizontal pole lowered slightly for each successive pass
Examples of limbo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
CBS News, 28 Apr. 2025
As of September 2023, the act passed the Senate Banking Committee but awaits a full Senate vote, leaving businesses in a state of financial limbo.
—Matt Rozo, Mercury News, 28 Apr. 2025
Still others caught in legal limbo aren’t students at all.
—Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
Apparitions, visions, and prophecies are the miracles that nonbelievers are most likely to greet with skepticism, and these are precisely the types of miracles that the Vatican has now largely relegated to an epistemological limbo.
—Emily Harnett, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for limbo
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Noun
Many are held in a sort of limbo, not convicted of a crime but not stable enough to be released.
—CBS News, 28 Apr. 2025
As of September 2023, the act passed the Senate Banking Committee but awaits a full Senate vote, leaving businesses in a state of financial limbo.
—Matt Rozo, Mercury News, 28 Apr. 2025
Still others caught in legal limbo aren’t students at all.
—Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
Apparitions, visions, and prophecies are the miracles that nonbelievers are most likely to greet with skepticism, and these are precisely the types of miracles that the Vatican has now largely relegated to an epistemological limbo.
—Emily Harnett, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for limbo
Cite this Entry
“Limbo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/limbo. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
limbo
1 of 2 noun
lim·bo
ˈlim-bō
plural limbos
1
often capitalized
: a place for souls (as of unbaptized infants) believed to be barred from heaven through no fault of their own
2
a
: a place or state of being held or forgotten
b
: a middle place or state
limbo
2 of 2 noun
: a dance or contest that involves bending backward and passing under a horizontal pole
Etymology
Noun
Middle English limbo "a place for souls," derived from Latin limbus (same meaning), from earlier limbus "border"
Noun
from the English of Trinidad and Barbados limbo "a dance that involves bending backwards under a pole," related to Jamaican English limba "to bend," from English limber "flexible"
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