encumber
Americanverb (used with object)
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to impede or hinder; hamper.
Red tape encumbers all our attempts at action.
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to block up or fill with what is obstructive or superfluous.
a mind encumbered with trivial and useless information.
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to burden or weigh down.
She was encumbered with a suitcase and several packages.
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to burden with obligations, debt, etc.
verb
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to hinder or impede; make difficult; hamper
encumbered with parcels after going shopping at Christmas
his stupidity encumbers his efforts to learn
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to fill with superfluous or useless matter
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to burden with debts, obligations, etc
Other Word Forms
- encumberingly adverb
- unencumbered adjective
Etymology
Origin of encumber
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English encombren, encombre, encomber, from Anglo-French, Middle French encombrer, equivalent to en- prefix + -combrer, verbal derivative of combre “dam, weir,” from early Medieval Latin combrus, from Gaulish comberos (unrecorded) “confluence, bringing together” (compare Quimper, in Brittany, from Breton Kemper ); en- 1, com-, bear 1
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.
His house was encumbered with liens and he’d sold a “prop plane” that prosecutors cited when arguing he was a risk to abscond, Maitia said.
From Los Angeles Times
He gets straight into it on his new record, on an opening track encumbered with the blindingly literal title, "Opening".
From BBC
Granted, we had a few clients who had real, provable needs for this kind of certification; people who, like Iris, experienced a grave loss or were visibly encumbered by issues outside of their control.
From Salon
While Season 14 had its fair share of bright spots, it was encumbered by fan expectations and production growing pains.
From Salon
Two questions that have forever encumbered treatment of intellectual responsibility remain with us.
From Salon
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.
