cumber
Americanverb (used with object)
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to hinder; hamper.
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to overload; burden.
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to inconvenience; trouble.
noun
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a hindrance.
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something that cumbers.
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Archaic. embarrassment; trouble.
verb
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to obstruct or hinder
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obsolete to inconvenience
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cumber
1250–1300; Middle English cumbre (noun), cumbren (v.), aphetic variant of acumbren to harass, defeat; see encumber
Explanation
To cumber is to make something more difficult or burdensome. Don't cumber yourself by trying to carry all those tote bags through the airport — get a rolling suitcase instead! The old-fashioned verb cumber is rarely used these days, but you still see hints of it in words like cumbersome and unencumbered. It derives from the Old French combre, "obstruction," and its root, meaning "to carry." If you come across this word in an old poem or novel, you'll know it means "to burden." In Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, for example, the character of Meg is described as "cumbered with many cares."
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.
The Russians knew that the cumber some mass of Russian arms could not roll far beyond Russia's borders.
From Time Magazine Archive
"He's on pretty thin ice sometimes," says Jack Ford, 23, the ardent skier and mountain cumber.
From Time Magazine Archive
The fads and frills that now cumber our school curriculum make little appeal to a teacher of character, culture and vision.
From Time Magazine Archive
“I can carry thee right well, as the good friar did. The harp and the crutches we shall strap on so they will not cumber us.”
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
A fair and goodly tree, the higher it grows, the more widely it expands, the deeper must it cast its roots into the ground, if it would not come toppling down and cumber the earth.
From Donahoe's Magazine, Vol. XV, No. 4, April, 1886 Volume 15 (January 1886 - July 1886) by Various
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.
