From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlaméla‧mé /ˈlɑːmeɪ $ lɑːˈmeɪ/ noun [uncountable] TIMcloth containing gold or silver threads a gold lamé dresslamelame1 /leɪm/ adjective 1 INJURE a) unable to walk properly because your leg or foot is injured or weak a lame doggo lame (=become lame) b) the lame [plural] people who are lame2 BELIEVEa lame excuse or explanation is weak and difficult to believelame excuse/explanation She gave some lame excuse about missing the bus. a lame attempt to deflect criticism → lamely3 informal boring or not very good SYN poor A lot of the songs on this album are a bit lame. the company’s lame performance —lameness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
lame• The horse, like so many tonga horses, was lame.• The party was lame.• In Lexington's case her parents and grandparents had good hips and she is not lame.• Movement is always hard to assess at this age, but avoid any puppy who moves erratically or is obviously lame!• His suspension was as lame as O. J. Simpson getting to do counseling over the telephone for domestic abuse.• It sounded lame but I really had lost my ticket.• And while that makes him a lame duck, he still has his veto pen and his bully pulpit.• It may be desirable to spend what could otherwise be dole money on temporarily subsidizing lame ducks to ease the transition.• She's always got some lame excuse for being late.• I don't want to hear any of your lame excuses for being late.lame attempt• The door is falling off its hinges; a sheet of plastic makes a lame attempt to keep out the wind.lamelame2 verb [transitive] INJUREto make a person or animal unable to walk properly SYN cripple He was lamed in the accident.Grammar Lame is usually passive.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
lame• It was Crane who had been lamed and the question arose how they were to use the horses.• One had bolted having kicked and lamed one of the verderers who had tried to hold it.Origin lamé (1900-2000) French lame “gold or silver thread” lame1 Old English lama 