embrace
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
to take or clasp in the arms; press to the bosom; hug.
-
to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly.
to embrace an idea.
-
to avail oneself of.
to embrace an opportunity.
- Synonyms:
- seize
-
to adopt (a profession, a religion, etc.).
to embrace Buddhism.
-
to take in with the eye or the mind.
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to encircle; surround; enclose.
a secret garden embraced by wild shrubs.
-
to include or contain.
An encyclopedia embraces a great number of subjects.
- Antonyms:
- exclude
verb (used without object)
noun
-
embraces
plural
verb (used with object)
verb
-
(also intr) (of a person) to take or clasp (another person) in the arms, or (of two people) to clasp each other, as in affection, greeting, etc; hug
-
to accept (an opportunity, challenge, etc) willingly or eagerly
-
to take up (a new idea, faith, etc); adopt
to embrace Judaism
-
to comprise or include as an integral part
geology embraces the science of mineralogy
-
to encircle or enclose
noun
-
the act of embracing
-
euphemistic (often plural) sexual intercourse
verb
Synonym Usage
See include.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of embrace1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French embracier, equivalent to em- em- 1 + bracier “to embrace,” derivative of brace “the two arms”; see brace
Origin of embrace2
First recorded in 1420–1475; late Middle English: “to influence, prejudice, bribe (a jury),” perhaps the same word as embrace 1
Explanation
To embrace something is to welcome it with open arms, hold, hug, accept completely. You might embrace your sweetheart, or even changes in technology. Embrace is from the French verb embrasser, which started out meaning "to clasp in the arms" (but now includes kissing). You embrace someone by giving her a giant hug, and when you embrace a new idea, it's like your brain gives it a hug. The noun and verb form are similar: If you embrace someone who isn't your sweetheart, you might get caught in an embrace. In Henry IV, Shakespeare writes about a really, really tight embrace: "I will embrace him with a soldier's arm/That he shall shrink under my courtesy."
Vocabulary lists containing embrace
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Of Mice and Men
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Olympic champion and the world silver medallist over 800m embrace by the side of the track after surviving their latest brutal training session together during an east Manchester downpour.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Lai faces a fair amount of public reluctance to embrace crisis-readiness as a way of life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Anything that can get us to embrace better financial habits is a win, Geletka says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
“I have come to love talking about it in the context of women’s empowerment, finding ways to embrace their own integral agency.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
I was out of the car almost before it stopped, running down the alley, through the side door, and into Nollie’s embrace.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Ultimately, they conclude, finding a new constitutional meaning that actually embraces the public’s true understanding of the document requires returning to our old understanding.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
California has long been known as a progressive state that embraces evolving lifestyles, but when it comes to auto insurance, it seems stuck in the 1950s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
“It’s a modern kind of feminism that embraces self assurance and femininity on your own terms.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Byrd, on the other hand, embraces it all, even without the hazy glow of ’80s-era DV cameras.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
There were no embraces, no joy at all.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
During almost a decade as the joke candidate in UK politics, Binface has fully embraced the absurd.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
After the last plate was served up on Sunday — eggs over easy with a side of bacon — an emotional Wong-Young embraced her mother.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
At Revelio Labs, researchers looked at how much companies have embraced AI, based on the skills and titles sought in job postings.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
They embraced continuous improvement and innovation, taking advantage of their complementary skills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
We started to joke some, and before I knew it I felt embraced in a way that energized me.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
“AI is very likely to make the U.S. economy more productive. If investors believe that, they should be buying the equal-weighted S&P 500 and companies embracing AI in their operations.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 9, 2026
“It’s the first time that I’m properly going into the genre and embracing it and instigating that work,” Anderson says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
He adopted a kinder, more family-friendly public persona while also embracing fatherhood - he has three children via surrogacy.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Some growers are embracing contrast marketing—like West Virginia farmer Eli Cook, who tripled his daily sales to $7,000 after running social posts comparing the safety of his produce to store-bought risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
They could see people running about through the streets embracing one another, tossing caps and hats into the air, and in other ways showing their joy at being freed of the Welsh invaders.
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
