Limbed describes something that has limbs, or arms and legs. When you read about a “four-limbed creature” in a science book, that means an animal with four limbs, like a dog or lizard. Humans are also four-limbed, even though we call our limbs “arms” and “legs” instead of just “limbs.”

The word usually appears with a number or description in front of it. A “long-limbed” basketball player has especially long arms and legs. A “short-limbed” bulldog has stubby little legs. Scientists studying evolution might discuss when “four-limbed vertebrates” first crawled onto land millions of years ago.

You'll also see limbed when describing trees. An oak with many branches spreading outward is “well-limbed,” while a pine tree with few lower branches might be described as “sparsely limbed.” In this case, the tree's branches are its limbs.