encumber
[ en-kuhm-ber ]
/ ɛnˈkʌm bər /
verb (used with object)
to impede or hinder; hamper; retard: Red tape encumbers all our attempts at action.
to block up or fill with what is obstructive or superfluous: a mind encumbered with trivial and useless information.
to burden or weigh down: She was encumbered with a suitcase and several packages.
to burden with obligations, debt, etc.
RELATED WORDS
overburden, obstruct, load, cramp, clog, weight, tax, hamper, overload, charge, lade, handicap, inconvenience, incommode, embarrass, hog-tie, retard, saddle, trammel, discommode
Nearby words
- encrusted,
- encrypt,
- encryption,
- enculturate,
- enculturation,
- encumbrance,
- encumbrancer,
- ency.,
- encyclical,
- encyclopaedia
Also incumber.
Origin of encumber
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for encumber
encumber
incumber
/ (ɪnˈkʌmbə) /
verb (tr)
to hinder or impede; make difficult; hamperencumbered with parcels after going shopping at Christmas; his stupidity encumbers his efforts to learn
to fill with superfluous or useless matter
to burden with debts, obligations, etc
Word Origin for encumber
C14: from Old French encombrer, from en- 1 + combre a barrier, from Late Latin combrus, of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
encumber
early 14c., "burden, vex, inconvenience," from Old French encombrer "to block up, hinder, thwart," from Late Latin incombrare, from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + combrus "barricade, obstacle," probably from Latin cumulus "heap." Meaning "hinder, hamper" is attested in English from late 14c. Related: Encumbered; encumbering.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper