embedded

[ em-bed-id ]

adjective

1. fixed or snugly enclosed in a surrounding mass:

   The young turtles are weighed, measured, and tagged with an embedded microchip before being released back into the salt marsh.

2. incorporated into something as an essential characteristic:

   In any cultural context, deeply embedded values and attitudes can be difficult to change.

3. 1. being or relating to a journalist assigned to travel with a military unit or political campaign:

      He was an embedded reporter with the First Marine Division during the invasion of Iraq.

   2. working closely with a group or participating in a special event as an invited expert, creative professional, etc.:

      As Radio 3’s first embedded composer, he is writing one new piece of music a week for the breakfast show.

4. Digital Technology. (of text, images, sound, or code) placed in a computer file, HTML document, software program, or electronic device:

   Click here or watch the embedded video below to learn more about the work of our Foundation.

5. Grammar. (of a construction, as a phrase or clause) inserted into a larger construction, as a clause or sentence:

   Informative texts often include unfamiliar technical vocabulary and complex sentences with embedded clauses.

6. Histology. (of biological tissue) infiltrated with melted paraffin or other such material that later solidifies, enabling the preparation to be sliced very thin for viewing under a microscope (sometimes used in combination):

   The fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues were cut into sections 5 μm thick and mounted on glass slides.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of embed ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of embedded¹

embed ( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

The heart's neural network, which is embedded in the superficial layers of the heart wall, has been considered a simple structure that relays the signals from the brain.

From Science Daily

These fossils ranged from 35.5 to 35.9 million years old and were found embedded within three metres of a rock core taken from underneath the Gulf of Mexico by the scientific Deep Sea Drilling Project.

From Science Daily

Discovering the Russian-speaking network embedded in the UK’s street drugs market is the biggest success against money laundering in a decade, say investigators.

From BBC

"It will be very helpful to use the same tools to see the entanglement in a proton embedded in a nucleus -- to learn how it is impacted by the nuclear environment."

From Science Daily

These medications work by blocking molecules embedded on the surface of cells -- immune checkpoints -- which normally serve as "brake pedals" that prevent excess immune activity, or inflammation.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• fixed
• ingrained
• installed
• planted