adjective
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awkward because of size, weight, or shape
cumbersome baggage
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difficult because of extent or complexity
cumbersome accounts
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cumbersome
First recorded in 1325–75, cumbersome is from the Middle English word cummyrsum. See cumber, -some 1
Explanation
You have to wrestle a bit with the longish word cumbersome; it's cumbersome, or kind of long and clumsy, to tumble out in a sentence. It's hard to use it gracefully. A "cumber" is something that slows you down, and though the words aren't related, "lumber" includes big pieces of heavy wood, which might slow down the person carrying them. Moving lumber is cumbersome, because it's a heavy and awkward job. Getting your laundry down the stairs or putting a Rottweiler in the bathtub can be cumbersome too.
Vocabulary lists containing cumbersome
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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ACT Vocabulary List
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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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.
Among his biggest shake-ups: eliminating a requirements process for weapons purchases that was slow and cumbersome; suspending costly and rigorous cybersecurity requirements; and giving lower-ranked officers more power to buy the weapons they want.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
It can be an expensive and cumbersome process.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
"We don't have a national health program. It's much more cumbersome to streamline these types of programs, even though we know they're beneficial," Finkelstein said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Some half-a-dozen foreign tourists that the BBC spoke to also blamed longer and more cumbersome visa procedures and a hike in the five-year visa fees for the decline in visitor numbers.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
I almost chucked it when we started up the hill, because it was so cumbersome.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
