embark

[em-bahrk]

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verb (used without object)

to board a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle, as for a journey.

to start an enterprise, business, etc.

verb (used with object)

to put or receive on board a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle.

to involve (someone) in an enterprise.

to venture or invest (something) in an enterprise.

Origin of embark

1540–50; < Middle French embarquer < Spanish embarcar, equivalent to em- em-¹ + -barcar, verbal derivative of barca bark³

Related formsre·em·bark, verb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for embarking

enter, commence, launch, board, entrain, emplane

Examples from the Web for embarking

Contemporary Examples of embarking

By embracing celibacy, Hales is embarking upon one of the only sanctioned paths for LGBT students at BYU.
Mormon U. Forces Gays to Be Celibate
Emily Shire
May 13, 2014
Mad Men, the ambitious, award-winning AMC series, is embarking upon its seventh and final season this Sunday.
Every Woman Don Draper’s Hooked Up With on ‘Mad Men’
Amy Zimmerman
April 13, 2014
The first attacks came in June 2012, just as she was embarking on her first trip abroad in 24 years.
Why Does Aung San Suu Kyi Not Speak Up?
Peter Popham
July 1, 2013
Ciccone seems to be embarking on this venture with a certain unease about the way he will be perceived.
Christopher Ciccone, Madonna’s Brother, Debuts a Shoe Line
Isabel Wilkinson
September 13, 2012
Embarking on an unauthorized biography requires a strong stomach.
The Unauthorized Biographer's Challenge
Isabel Vincent
November 4, 2010

Historical Examples of embarking

I am glad that public decency is not to be outraged by their embarking together.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
You would have thought he was embarking at the regularly appointed rendezvous.
The Forest
Stewart Edward White
Caius was put on shore there to await the hour of embarking.
The Mermaid
Lily Dougall
Men were embarking in the other vehicles; and the blended noise from them floated in to us.
The White Invaders
Raymond King Cummings
“The rest will have no difficulty in embarking, I hope,” observed the surgeon.
The Three Commanders
W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for embarking

embark

verb

to board (a ship or aircraft)

(intr; usually foll by on or upon) to commence or engage (in) a new project, venture, etc

Derived Formsembarkation, nounembarkment, noun

Word Origin for embark

C16: via French from Old Provençal embarcar, from em- + barca boat, barque

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for embarking

embark

1540s, from Middle French embarquer, from em- (see en- (1)) + barque "small ship" (see bark (n.)). Related: Embarked; embarking.