embed

American  

[em-bed, em-bed] / ɛmˈbɛd, ˈɛmˌbɛd /

Sometimes imbed

verb (used with object)

• embeds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• embedded,
  past participle,  past
• embedding
  present participle

1. to fix into a surrounding mass.

   to embed stones in cement.

2. to surround tightly or firmly; envelop or enclose.

   Thick cotton padding embedded the precious vase in its box.

3. to incorporate or contain as an essential part or characteristic.

   A love of color is embedded in all of her paintings.

4. Histology. to infiltrate (a biological tissue) with molten paraffin or other plastic material that later solidifies, enabling the preparation to be sliced very thin for viewing under a microscope.

5. Mathematics. to map (a set) into another set.

6. Grammar. to insert (a construction, as a phrase or clause) into a larger construction, as a clause or sentence.

7. 1. to assign (a journalist) to travel with a military unit or a political campaign: We've embedded a reporter with each of the presidential candidates.

      The photojournalists were embedded in Afghanistan with U.S. troops.

      We've embedded a reporter with each of the presidential candidates.

   2. to invite (an expert, creative professional, etc.) to work closely with a group or participate in a special event.

      We have embedded writers within our acting companies, and now have playwrights writing pieces for the actors they are working with.

8. Digital Technology. to place (text, images, sound, or computer code) in a computer file, HTML document, software program, or electronic device.

   Here's how to embed videos on your website.

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verb (used without object)

• embeds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• embedded,
  past participle,  past
• embedding
  present participle

1. to be or become fixed or incorporated, as into a surrounding mass.

   Glass embeds in the soft tar of the road.

noun

1. a person who has been embedded, as with a military unit.

2. a period of time during which a person is embedded.

embed British  

/ ɪmˈbɛd /

verb

1. (usually foll by in) to fix or become fixed firmly and deeply in a surrounding solid mass

   to embed a nail in wood

2. (tr) to surround closely

   hard rock embeds the roots

3. (tr) to fix or retain (a thought, idea, etc) in the mind

4. (often foll by with) to assign a journalist or be assigned as one to accompany an active military unit

5. (tr) grammar to insert (a subordinate clause) into a sentence

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noun

1. a journalist accompanying an active military unit

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• embedment
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• embedding
  present
• embedded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• embed
  simple
• embeds
  simple
• have embedded
  perfect
• has embedded
  perfect
• am embedding
  progressive
• are embedding
  progressive
• is embedding
  progressive
• have been embedding
  perfect progressive
• has been embedding
  perfect progressive

Past

• embedded
  simple
• had embedded
  perfect
• was embedding
  progressive
• were embedding
  progressive
• had been embedding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will embed
  simple
• will have embedded
  perfect
• will be embedding
  progressive
• will have been embedding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of embed

First recorded in 1770–80; em- ¹ + bed

Explanation

The verb embed means to implant something or someone — like to embed a stone into a garden pathway or to embed a journalist in a military unit. When you stick something firmly within a particular environment, you are embedding it. If you are an archeologist, you might spend a lot of your time looking for pottery shards embedded in the earth. If you are a web site designer, you might embed video clips on web pages. And if your newspaper is covering a war overseas, you might consider embedding a journalist in a military troop in order to have a source reporting back from the front lines.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

embed embeds embedded embedding

The programme is part of the National Year of Reading 2026, which aims to inspire the joy of reading and embed it in daily life.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The idea was to embed prevention specialists within targeting teams and foster a culture that prioritizes civilian security in accordance with U.S. law and international rules of war.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

Amazon Web Services will embed “thousands of experts with customers to co-develop and deploy agentic AI solutions in days,” Francessca Vasquez, Amazon’s vice president of frontier AI, shared in a press release.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

“Hard targets are at least visible and enforceable. Softer objectives are harder to measure and harder to embed in the cadre evaluation system.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

That way Salesforce.com basically uses its customers and partners to grow its platform and embed itself into more and more businesses.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Another issue for Microsoft has been its suite of Copilot AI tools, which embeds AI assistants into Microsoft’s Office, Teams and GitHub software.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

But as the firm increasingly embeds itself in public bodies, the opinions and influence of its leaders leave some fearful.

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026

The energy sector has done very well this year as prices have risen, and Barclays strategists recognize this embeds a very aggressive outlook for oil for much of the year.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026

On the US side, and unlike the 2003 Gulf War, the Pentagon has not invited international media such as AFP to join military embeds.

From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026

If a heavy shoe at a yellow heat be held tightly pressed against a hoof which has been pared too thin, till it embeds itself, serious damage may be done.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Michener, Charles B.

In a response to AFP on X, Google said images created with the feature include SynthID digital watermarks, invisible markers embedded in media generated using the company's artificial intelligence tools.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

The Holy Land is embedded in our consciousness, and “the proprietorial moral belief that we need to adjudicate for what happens in the Holy Land is very, very deep in the Western soul.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

CT imaging allowed Margulis-Ohnuma to examine structures that remained embedded in the rock.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

Not long before McCarthy’s speech, the purported Russian spy Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury and atomic physicist Klaus Fuchs was unmasked as a Russian spy embedded in the Los Alamos atomic bomb laboratory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

As I was doing this, the Copper Gate reappeared, embedded in a nearby wall.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

"By embedding these microbes, plastics could effectively 'come alive' and self-destruct on command, turning durability from a problem into a programmable feature," explains Dai.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

"You can do this" is the Daily Mirror's pep-talk headline, embedding a photo of captain Harry Kane and star goal scorer Jude Bellingham, head to head, energetically revving each other up.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

They tricked image recognition systems into mistaking photographs of cats for guacamole, and found new ways of embedding inaudible Alexa commands into five-second snippets of classical music.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

He added that “the current emergency in Garden Grove is just an example of this longer embedding of industry around L.A.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

“I have been referred to Dr. Viftas in Santiago—” “And you would be very grateful for the captain’s leniency in allowing you to go,” Patria reminded me, embedding my request in her scold.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

Related Words

• bury
• enclose
• fix
• ingrain
• inlay
• insert
• install
• lodge