<p><strong>Noun:</strong></p><ul><li>a race or other contest in which certain disadvantages or advantages of weight, distance, time, etc., are placed upon competitors to equalize their chances of winning.</li><li>the disadvantage or advantage itself.</li><li>any disadvantage that makes success more difficult: The main handicap of our business is lack of capital.</li><li>Sometimes Offensive. a physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used with object):</strong></p><ul><li>handicapped, handicapping.</li><li>to place at a disadvantage; disable or burden: He was handicapped by his injured ankle.</li><li>Synonyms: incapacitate, cripple, impede, hinder.</li><li>Antonyms: help, assist, aid.</li><li>to subject to a disadvantageous handicap, as a competitor of recognized superiority.</li><li>to assign handicaps to (competitors).</li><li>Sports. to attempt to predict the winner of (a contest, especially a horse race), as by comparing past performances of the contestants.</li><li>to assign odds for or against (any particular contestant) to win a contest or series of contests: He handicapped the Yankees at 2-to-1 to take the series from the Cardinals.</li></ul>