embed

Sometimes im·bed

[em-bed, em-bed]

verb (used with object)

embedded, embedding 

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.

verb (used without object)

embedded, embedding 

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

/ 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

noun

1. a journalist accompanying an active military unit

Other Word Forms

• embedment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of embed¹

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

Example Sentences

There are different kinds of art criticism — theoretical, and academic, two that turn up in different kinds of scholarly journals; trade, sponsored in commercially supported magazines; and journalistic, embedded in press reporting on everyday life.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One comes from the sociologist Diane Vaughan, who embedded herself with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for months after the disaster.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"It's all about the patience of the staff here, because it's all about repetition followed by more repetition until those behaviours embed themselves in those young children," he said.

Read more on BBC

The greatest moment by a Dodger benchwarmer in baseball history, a guy so embedded in the landscape of Los Angeles sports that he will be forever known simply by two abbreviated versions of his name...

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But there is no evidence that AI can help solve the problem of blocking hundreds of fast-flying warheads embedded in a cloud of decoys.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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