lime

plural limes

1. countableuncountablechemistryAny inorganic material containing calcium, usually calcium oxide (quicklime) or calcium hydroxide (slaked lime).

   Lime, which is the product of the burning of chalk or limestone, might be bought ready burnt, or it could be burnt in kilns specially constructed in the neighbourhood of the building operations.

   1952, L.F. Salzman, Building in England, page 149

2. countablepoeticuncountableAny gluey or adhesive substance that traps or captures; sometimes a synonym for birdlime.

   Like the lime which foolish birds are caught with.

   1835, William Wordsworth, They called Thee Merry England, in old time [first line of unnamed poem]

   1 more example

   Monster, come, put some lime upon your fingers, and away with the rest.

   1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]

3. countableuncountableentertainmentA limelight; any spotlight.

   Sellers moved on until he was actually trusted to operate the limes, the spotlights that can make or destroy an artist's act.

   1980, Peter Evans, Peter Sellers: The Mask Behind the Mask, page 30

   1 more example

   Then out of the blue, a spotlight much like the “limes” in a theatre, lit up what seemed like a Punch and Judy tent […] He struggled even more, when from out of the shadows and into the bright light of the limes, stepped Uncle Jolly.

   2018, Robert Charles Hines, Twists and Turns: 13 Tales of the Uneasy, page 121

present singular third person limes · participle present liming · participle past limed · past limed

1. transitiveTo treat with calcium hydroxide or calcium oxide (lime).

   If I were you, I'd lime.

   1917, Rudyard Kipling, The Land

2. transitiveTo smear with birdlime.
   1. raretransitiveTo ensnare, catch, entrap.

      Abraham, like his parents, seemed to have been limed and caught by the ensnaring inn.

      1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 39

      1 more example

      URSULA. She's lim'd, I warrant you: we have caught her, madam. HERO. If it prove so, then loving goes by haps: Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.

      1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]

3. transitiveTo apply limewash.

plural limes

1. countableuncountableA deciduous tree of the genus Tilia, especially Tilia × europaea; the linden tree.

   The linden or lime tree is the favourite haunt of the Elves and cognate beings; and it is not safe to be near it after sunset.

   1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 158

   1 more example

   But there was nothing of an ascetic's expression in her bright full eyes, as she looked before her, not consciously seeing, but absorbing into the intensity of her mood, the solemn glory of the afternoon with its long swathes of light between the far-off rows of limes, whose shadows touched each other.

   1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter III, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I, page 38

2. countableuncountableThe wood of this tree.

plural limes

1. countableuncountableAny of several green citrus fruit, somewhat smaller and sharper-tasting than a lemon.
2. countableuncountableAny of the trees that bear limes, especially Key lime, Citrus aurantiifolia.
3. uncountableAny of several brilliant, sometimes yellowish, green colours associated with the fruits of a lime tree.

   Synonyms: lime green

   1. countableuncountableA particular one of those colours that has been standardized under this name, at least in some organizations' standards.

      Synonyms: lime green

4. countableslanguncountablelifestyleA fan fiction story which contains sexual references, but stops short of full, explicit descriptions of sexual activity (coined by analogy with lemon).

   WARNING: This is a lime. While it does not show explicit sex, as a lemon would, references to sexual situations abound.

   1998 June 8, Gary Kleppe, “[Ranma][Fanfic] Tangled Web”, in rec.arts.anime.creative (Usenet)

   2 more examples

   Even with all the sex in Garden of EVA, I still think the main stories are better for just being the lemon-scented limes that they are.

   1998 December 29, jiml...@earthlink.net, “[EVA][FanFic][Lemon] Garden of EVA 0:6x - Wet Dreams Bite!”, in rec.arts.anime.creative (Usenet)

   I have no intention of writing any lemon scenes, limes are possibilities but unlikely and if they occur they will be few in number.

   2001 November 27, Schemer, “[Ranma/SF][FanFic] A Learning Experience - Chapter 01”, in rec.arts.anime.creative (Usenet)

1. not comparableContaining lime or lime juice.
2. not comparableHaving the aroma or flavor of lime.
3. not comparableLime-green.

present singular third person limes · participle present liming · participle past limed · past limed

1. BarbadosCaribbeanTrinidad and TobagoinformalTo hang out or socialize in an informal, relaxed environment, especially with friends, for example at a party or on the beach.

plural limes

1. CaribbeanTrinidad & TobagoA casual gathering to socialize.

plural limes

1. alternativeAlternative form of lyam (“a leash”).