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handicap  (handicaps plural & 3rd person present) (handicapping present participle) (handicapped past tense & past participle )
1  n-count A handicap is a physical or mental disability. 
He lost his leg when he was ten, but learnt to overcome his handicap.  
2  n-count A handicap is an event or situation that places you at a disadvantage and makes it harder for you to do something. 
Being a foreigner was not a handicap.  
3  verb If an event or a situation handicaps someone or something, it places them at a disadvantage. 
Greater levels of stress may seriously handicap some students...  V n 
4  n-count In golf, a handicap is an advantage given to someone who is not a good player, in order to make the players more equal. As you improve, your handicap gets lower. 
I see your handicap is down from 16 to 12.  
5  n-count In horse racing, a handicap is a race in which some competitors are given a disadvantage of extra weight in an attempt to give everyone an equal chance of winning. 



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