encumber
Americanverb (used with object)
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encumbers,
present (3rd person singular)
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encumbered,
past participle, past
-
encumbering
present participle
-
to impede or hinder; hamper.
Red tape encumbers all our attempts at action.
-
to block up or fill with what is obstructive or superfluous.
a mind encumbered with trivial and useless information.
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to burden or weigh down.
She was encumbered with a suitcase and several packages.
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to burden with obligations, debt, etc.
verb
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to hinder or impede; make difficult; hamper
encumbered with parcels after going shopping at Christmas
his stupidity encumbers his efforts to learn
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to fill with superfluous or useless matter
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to burden with debts, obligations, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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encumbersimple
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encumberssimple
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have encumberedperfect
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has encumberedperfect
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am encumberingprogressive
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are encumberingprogressive
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is encumberingprogressive
-
have been encumberingperfect progressive
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has been encumberingperfect progressive
Past
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encumberedsimple
-
had encumberedperfect
-
was encumberingprogressive
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were encumberingprogressive
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had been encumberingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of encumber
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English encombren, encombre, encomber, from Anglo-French, Middle French encombrer, equivalent to en- prefix + -combrer, verbal derivative of combre “dam, weir,” from early Medieval Latin combrus, from Gaulish comberos (unrecorded) “confluence, bringing together” (compare Quimper, in Brittany, from Breton Kemper ); see en- 1, com-, bear 1
Explanation
To encumber is to weigh someone or something down with a physical or psychological burden. You may find yourself encumbered by a heavy backpack or with anxieties. Either way, it's a heavy load to bear! You can also use encumber to describe something that restricts you in some way: you're so encumbered by your homework load you can’t go to the concert Saturday night. The root, cumber, has several shades of meaning — including "to burden" and "to be overwhelmed."
Vocabulary lists containing encumber
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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Oliver Twist
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Traditionally, these big changes are something that you grant to the next mayor because you don’t want to necessarily encumber them,” Matute said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
"It was a time to really get to know one another with no outside influences to encumber you," Duffy told the outlet.
From Fox News ● Jul. 3, 2021
“He’s in the middle of negotiations with China, and he doesn’t want anything that is going to be passed that would encumber his ability to get things done,” Mr. Inhofe said.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2018
It would be even more difficult in the District, which pays from current appropriations and cannot encumber future appropriations under current legislation.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2016
A shocking number of phrases that drop easily from the fingers are bloated with words that encumber the reader without conveying any content.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
“That is expensive, not sustainable and encumbers future generations with further long-term liabilities,” Karsten Smid, an energy expert with the group’s German branch, said in a statement.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
By now we all know the basic data about college student loan debt—that it totals more than $1.7 trillion, encumbers around 40 million people at present, and cannot be absolved in bankruptcy.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2021
North Korea’s trade with China plunged more than 80% last year, Chinese customs data has shown, as the isolated country’s strict coronavirus lockdown encumbers an economy already burdened by international sanctions.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 19, 2021
He has said that he wears one when he’s concerned about being respectful, but that a jacket encumbers his political pugilism.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 10, 2020
It’s the way civilized man now encumbers his territory, not with great walls or stretches of wire but with a single well-placed device, a neat bundling with the workings of a mind.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
His house was encumbered with liens and he’d sold a “prop plane” that prosecutors cited when arguing he was a risk to abscond, Maitia said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
While Season 14 had its fair share of bright spots, it was encumbered by fan expectations and production growing pains.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2025
Now with a second mandate and significantly less encumbered, America, and the world, will see what he can really do.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2024
Long encumbered by a mouthful of metal, Zachary was told by his parents Friday that he could leave his fifth-grade class early because he had an orthodontist appointment to get his braces removed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2024
Although encumbered by the long sword hanging from her shoulder, Eilonwy ran faster than Taran.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
Those documents alleged that Lisa Marie Presley, Keough’s mother, had borrowed $3.8 million from the company and “gave a deed of trust encumbering Graceland as security.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2024
Global competition and “innovation” have often been cited as reasons to avoid encumbering tech companies with regulation.
From Slate ● Dec. 28, 2023
Forbes reported on how the influx of returns has encumbering retailers since early 2021.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 28, 2022
This can be an offer to hold any encumbering items — though not, presumably, the cane.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 21, 2021
The encumbering woods are cut down, the unhealthy marshes are drained.
From Knowledge is Power: A View of the Productive Forces of Modern Society and the Results of Labor, Capital and Skill. by Charles Knight
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
