embedded

American  

[em-bed-id] / ɛmˈbɛd ɪd /

Sometimes imbedded

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.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of embed.

Etymology

Origin of embedded

embed ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

The adjective embedded describes something that is encased in a surrounding substance. On a walking tour of Fredericksburg, Virginia, you can see buildings with embedded Civil War cannonballs. Embedded also means to insert as part of a whole. In wartime, embedded journalists are stationed with military units so that they can make first-hand reports on the news, and so that viewers can have a more in-depth understanding of issues facing the soldiers. This use arose during the Iraq war in 2003. Embedded comes from the verb embed, which originally applied to materials embedded in rocks, such as fossils.

Example Sentences

“What’s drawn me to tarot is the way it’s built on symbolism and the way that symbolism is embedded in the collective unconscious,” Wicks says.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

"The immediate concern is the plastics becoming microplastics. The mowers churn up plastic leaves and petals and it gets embedded over the years," she said.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

“If we wait for definitive evidence that high inflation has become embedded in the economy, it may require larger policy adjustments, at greater cost,” Hammack adds.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

The coming generation of mega-IPOs may finally expose to the average investor the fiction embedded in the phrase “passive investing.”

From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026

Plays and moves, embedded in him, poured out of him.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Related Words

• fixed
• ingrained
• installed
• planted