Limits Set I Strict ˈlɪmɪt Spending Recommended Legal

• they imposed a strict spending limit.
• his speed was double the legal limit.
• do not exceed the recommended limit of 6g of salt per day.
• the eu has set strict limits on levels of pollution.

limit

1. the greatest or smallest amount of something that is allowed
• SYNONYM restriction
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/restriction
• They imposed a strict spending limit.
• His speed was double the legal limit.
• Do not exceed the recommended limit of 6g of salt per day.
• The EU has set strict limits on levels of pollution.
• to keep government spending within acceptable limits
• You can't drive—you're over the limit (= you have drunk more alcohol than is legal when driving).

Extra Examples

• Banks may import currency without limit.
• They called for a limit on the use of pesticides.
• Air pollution is in danger of breaching the limits set by the European Union.
• If the £145 limit is breached customs can insist on the payment of import duty and VAT.
• The package exceeded the weight limit for a normal first class stamp.
• There is an upper limit on spending.
• The law placed a limit of 100 years on copyright.
• Central government has set a limit on spending by local councils.
• Four cups of coffee is my daily limit.
• Heat levels rose beyond the recommended limits.
• I can offer you $50 but that's my absolute limit.
• I don't want to go over my overdraft limit.
• Most credit card issuers have set limits on how low rates can go.
• The application must be made within a strict time limit.
• The engine was still reading well above normal limits.
• The level of radioactivity in the soil was found to be above recommended limits.
• The price fell below the lower limit.
• The same emission limits apply to all engines.
• There's a limit on the number of tickets you can buy.
• There's a weight limit on the bridge.
• This led them to reduce the upper age limit from age 65 to age 59.
• We are forced to operate within relatively narrow limits.
2. a point at which something stops being possible or existing
• She knew the limits of her power.
• to set/define the limits of something
• to push/test the limits of something
• It's a movie that stretches the limits of believability.
• His arrogance knew (= had) no limits.
• There is a limit to the amount of pain we can bear.
• The team performed to the limit of its capabilities.
• to push/test somebody/something to the limit
• I knew I had reached my limit and couldn't do any more.
• They've done their best within the limits of their capability.
• I saw things beyond the limits of my ability to describe.

Extra Examples

• I was almost at the limits of my patience.
• His family business had reached the limits of possible expansion.
• Every society defines the limits of acceptable behaviour.
• He set very definite limits on what he would reveal about his private life.
• Such restrictions would place severe limits on the music's wider cultural relevance.
• He pushed the limits of what the budget would bear.
• She is testing the limits of architecture as we know it.
• Daring art sometimes tests the limits of the legally permissible.
• We choose to accept challenges, to take risks, and to stretch limits.
• She pushed me to the limit of my abilities.
• She wants Zack to be free to explore his limits, experiment and try new things.
• The industry was approaching the limits of expansion.
• The new law has its limits.
• Their designers have pushed the limits of technology in order to create something new.
• There's a practical limit to how small a computer can be.
• They did well within the limits of their knowledge.
• They recognize the limits of conventional strategies.
• Our finances have been stretched to the limit.
• The managers' skills and expertise were being tested to the limits.
• There is no limit to what we can achieve.
3. the furthest edge of an area or a place
• SEE ALSO off-limits
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/off-limits
• We were reaching the limits of civilization.
• the city limits (= the imaginary line which officially divides the city from the area outside)
• islands on the outer limit of the continent

Extra Examples

• Fishing beyond the twelve-mile limit is not permitted.
• There was no school within a limit of ten miles.
• Let us wonder what stops at the limits of the universe.
• The trees are found only below a limit of 1 500 feet.
4. to be extremely annoying
5. to attempt to go beyond what is allowed or thought to be possible
• We aim to push the boundaries of what we can achieve.
• She pushes her physical limits through various endurance challenges.
6. there is no limit to what somebody can achieve, earn, do, etc.
• With a talent like his, the sky's the limit.
7. to some extent
• I'm willing to help, within limits.
• The children can do what they like, within limits.
8. without a point at which something has to stop
• The debt is rising without limit.
• She's a free spirit and lives her life without limits.

Word Origin

• late Middle English: from Latin limes, limit- ‘boundary, frontier’. The verb is from Latin limitare, from limes.