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# handicap

noun (a handicap, handicaps); verb (handicap, handicaps, handicapped, handicapping)

«handicap» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Something that makes it harder for you to do well, a disadvantage, as in «Being small was a handicap in basketball». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#m1)
2. (sport) In golf, horse racing and some games, a handicap is a score or weight that makes the contest fair between stronger and weaker players. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#m2)
3. (old-fashioned, now often hurtful) A disability; today people usually say «disability» instead. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#m3)
4. (verb) To make it harder for someone to do something. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#m4)

### In the lessons

In sport, a golfer's handicap shows how good they are: the lower the number, the better. In maths problems about races, a «handicap» start gives some runners a head start. In citizenship lessons, children learn that «handicapped» is old-fashioned and many find it hurtful; say «disabled person» or «person with a disability».

### Examples

- Not having a map was a big handicap. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#x1)
- Grandpa's golf handicap is 12. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#x2)
- The racehorse carried extra weight as a handicap. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#x3)
- Being new to the school was a handicap at first. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#x4)
- The bad weather handicapped the rescue team. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#x5)
- People now say «disabled» rather than «handicapped». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/#x6)

### Note

Double p in «handicapped», «handicapping». In golf, a lower handicap means a better player. «Handicap» meaning disability is old and may cause offence.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «handicap» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handicap/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«handicap» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/handicap.html) on Mova free.