cumber

American  

[kuhm-ber] / ˈkʌm bər /

verb (used with object)

1. to hinder; hamper.

2. to overload; burden.

3. to inconvenience; trouble.

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noun

1. a hindrance.

2. something that cumbers.

3. Archaic. embarrassment; trouble.

cumber British  

/ ˈkʌmbə /

verb

1. to obstruct or hinder

2. obsolete to inconvenience

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noun

1. a hindrance or burden

Other Word Forms

• cumberer noun
• cumberment noun
• overcumber verb (used with object)
• uncumbered adjective

Etymology

Origin of cumber

1250–1300; Middle English cumbre (noun), cumbren (v.), aphetic variant of acumbren to harass, defeat; 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

The Russians knew that the cumber some mass of Russian arms could not roll far beyond Russia's borders.

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

"He's on pretty thin ice sometimes," says Jack Ford, 23, the ardent skier and mountain cumber.

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

I wished the tyrant Ironheart to cumber it no more.

From The Green Forest Fairy Book by Brady, Loretta Ellen