one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
"The injured lion limped on its broken front limb."
any of the main branches arising from the trunk or a bough of a tree
"The storm snapped off several large limbs that were hanging low over the porch."
(astronomy) the circumferential edge of the apparent disc of the sun or the moon or a planet
"The astronomer timed the eclipse to begin precisely when the limb of the Sun touched the horizon."
the graduated arc that is attached to an instrument for measuring angles
"the limb of the sextant"
A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing).
"The astronomer adjusted the telescope to avoid catching the bright limb of the sun during sunrise."
The apparent visual edge of a celestial body.
In plain English: A limb is an arm, leg, wing, or tail that grows out of your body to help you move around.
"The child reached out to touch his mother's long arm and leg, which she called her limbs when reading about animals."
Usage: Avoid using "limb" to refer to small fingers or toes when specific terms like digit are more precise. When referring to trees, ensure context clarifies whether you mean the physical branch or the act of removing one.
To remove the limbs from (an animal or tree).
"The butcher carefully limbed the deer before preparing it for cooking."
In plain English: To limb means to cut off branches from a tree, though it is rarely used this way today and usually refers only to removing limbs physically rather than just trimming them back.
"The old oak tree began to limb when strong winds snapped its lower branches."
A surname.
"The old man named Limb waved from his porch while driving home."
The word "limb" comes from Old English lim, originally meaning both a body part and a tree branch, before entering Middle English as lyme or lim. Its spelling changed to include the silent "-b" in the late 1500s for reasons that remain unclear today.