limbo
limbo
Phonetic Spelling
IPA: /ˈlɪm.boʊ/
Syllable 1: lim (/ˈlɪm/)
/l/: The 'l' sound, as in light.
/ɪ/: The 'i' sound, as in sit.
/m/: The 'm' sound, as in map.
Syllable 2: bo (/boʊ/)
/b/: The 'b' sound, as in bat.
/oʊ/: The long 'o' sound, as in go or boat.
Word Form Variations
Noun (Singular): limbo
Noun (Plural): limbos
Verb (Infinitive): (to) limbo
Verb (Present): limbo / limbos
Verb (Present Participle): limboing
Verb (Past Tense): limboed
Verb (Past Participle): limboed
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A state of uncertainty, delay, or suspension where no final decision or progress can be made; an intermediary period of waiting.
Synonyms: suspension, standstill, purgatory, uncertainty, gridlock, stalemate, "in-between"
Antonyms: resolution, certainty, conclusion, finality, progress
A dance or competition, originating in the Caribbean, in which participants must bend backward to pass under a horizontal bar that is progressively lowered.
Synonyms: (The name of the dance is specific, so it has no direct synonyms.)
Antonyms: (N/A)
(In some theological beliefs) An intermediary realm or state for souls who are not destined for hell but are unable to enter heaven (such as the unbaptized).
Synonyms: borderland, intermediate state, netherworld
Antonyms: heaven, hell, paradise
Verb
To perform the limbo dance by bending backward to pass under a low bar.
Synonyms: (N/A)
Antonyms: (N/A)
(Informal) To lower or reduce something to an extreme degree.
Synonyms: lower, drop, slash, reduce
Antonyms: raise, increase, elevate, boost
Examples of Use
Newspapers & Politics In political and legal reporting, "limbo" is commonly used to describe a situation where a bill, nomination, or legal case is delayed indefinitely.
Example: A piece of legislation that has passed the House but is not being brought to a vote in the Senate is often described as being "stuck in legislative limbo." (e.g., in reference to stalled budget or reform bills).
Books & Literature The word has deep roots in theological and allegorical literature, most famously as a specific place.
Example: In Dante's Inferno, Limbo is the first circle of Hell, a place of sorrowless grief populated by virtuous pagans and unbaptized souls who are not damned to torment but are barred from heaven.
Entertainment (Film) Science fiction and fantasy often use "limbo" as a name for a state of being or an alternate dimension.
Example: In the film Inception (2010), "Limbo" is a deep, shared dream space of raw, infinite subconscious where time passes exceptionally slowly, and from which it is difficult to escape.
Entertainment (The Dance) The word is used literally to describe the popular Caribbean dance.
Example: A travel article about a tropical resort might describe the evening's entertainment, noting, "After dinner, guests were invited to join in the festivities, including a fire-eater and a lively limbo competition on the beach."
Entertainment (Music) The term appears in song titles and lyrics, often referencing both the dance and the feeling of uncertainty.
Example: The 1962 song "Limbo Rock" by Chubby Checker popularized the dance globally, with its famous lyric, "How low can you go?"
Online Publications & Public Discourse In everyday conversation and online articles, "limbo" is a common metaphor for personal or professional uncertainty.
Example: An advice columnist might address a reader who feels "stuck in career limbo," meaning they are in a job they don't like but are unsure what to do or how to move forward.
10 Famous Quotes Using Limbo
Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. (Brooks Atkinson)
Being on tour is like being in limbo. It's like going from nowhere to nowhere. (Bob Dylan)
The only time I set the bar low is for limbo. (Michael Scott, The Office)
Dreams are excursions into the limbo of things, a semi-deliverance from the human prison. (Henri-Frédéric Amiel)
A limbo large and broad, since call'd The Paradise of Fools, to few unknown. (John Milton, Paradise Lost)
Stateless people are in legal limbo and are afraid to show up. (António Guterres)
Do you know what limbo is? It's the neutral point between life and death. (Haruki Murakami)
I am the soul in limbo. (André Breton)
It's a kind of limbo, knowing what you want but not being quite sure how to go about doing it. (Suzy Kendall)
For this defect, and for no other guilt, we here are lost... cut off from hope, we live on in desire. (Dante Alighieri, describing Limbo in Inferno)
Etymology
The word limbo comes directly from the Latin word limbus, which literally means "border," "hem," or "edge" (like the edge of a piece of clothing).
The word's first known use in English, which started around the 1300s, wasn't as a standalone word. It was part of the Medieval Latin phrase in limbo. Theologians used this phrase to describe a specific concept: a place that was "on the edge" of Hell.
This place, Limbo, was thought to be the afterlife home for souls who weren't bad enough to be punished in Hell but couldn't be allowed into Heaven. This included people like virtuous non-Christians who lived before Jesus, or infants who died before being baptized.
So, the original meaning of "limbo" was this imaginary, in-between place. Because the souls there were thought to be in a state of permanent waiting—stuck and unable to move on to a final destination—the word's meaning expanded over time. By the 1600s, people began using "limbo" in a figurative way to describe any state of uncertainty, neglect, or being stuck in an intermediate state where no progress can be made.
(It is important to note that the limbo dance has a completely separate origin. That word is thought to have come from a West Indian dialect, likely related to the English word "limber," meaning to bend easily.)
Phrases + Idioms Containing Limbo
Phrases and Idioms Using "Limbo"
In limbo (This is the primary idiom, meaning in a state of uncertainty or delay.)
Stuck in limbo
Caught in limbo
Left hanging in limbo
A state of limbo
Legal limbo
Legislative limbo
Career limbo
Relationship limbo
Emotional limbo
(Doing) the limbo / The limbo dance
Idioms and Phrases with a Similar Meaning
Up in the air
In a holding pattern
On the fence
Twisting in the wind
Left hanging
On the back burner
Put on ice
At a standstill
Stuck in a rut
In no-man's-land
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of limbo from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
