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.
The next sequels, I suspect, will give them more time for that, but may also encumber them with more baggage.
From New York Times • Dec. 14, 2022
"It was a time to really get to know one another with no outside influences to encumber you," Duffy told the outlet.
From Fox News • Jul. 3, 2021
Since 2011, Fukushima has been saddled with the staggering burden of the meltdown’s aftermath that, despite government PR, will encumber and stigmatise its citizens for at least several decades.
From The Guardian • Mar. 16, 2018
It would be even more difficult in the District, which pays from current appropriations and cannot encumber future appropriations under current legislation.
From Washington Post • Dec. 16, 2016
A shocking number of phrases that drop easily from the fingers are bloated with words that encumber the reader without conveying any content.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
