encumber

[en-kuhm-ber]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR encumber ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Also incumber.

Origin of encumber

1300–50; Middle English encombren < Anglo-French, Middle French encombrer, equivalent to en- en-¹ + -combrer, verbal derivative of combre dam, weir < early Medieval Latin combrus < Gaulish *comberos confluence, bringing together (compare Quimper, in Brittany < Breton Kemper); see com-, bear¹

Related formsen·cum·ber·ing·ly, adverbun·en·cum·bered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for encumbering

overburden, obstruct, load, cramp, clog, weight, tax, hamper, overload, charge, lade, handicap, inconvenience, incommode, embarrass, hog-tie, retard, saddle, trammel, discommode

Examples from the Web for encumbering

Contemporary Examples of encumbering

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency can bog down any other agency by encumbering agency rules or policies.
The Ugly Truth About Financial-Regulatory Reform
Harvey Pitt
July 14, 2010

Historical Examples of encumbering

She assisted the strong hands to rip away her encumbering skirts.
The Spinner's Book of Fiction
Various
All non-combatants and refugees should go to the rear and be discouraged from encumbering us.
The Soul of John Brown
Stephen Graham
He was as impatient to assail his task and beat off the encumbering weight.
We Can't Have Everything
Rupert Hughes
I have purposely abstained from encumbering my narrative with legal details.
The Dead Alive
Wilkie Collins
I stripped to my shirt, delighted to be freed of the encumbering garments.
A Volunteer with Pike
Robert Ames Bennet

British Dictionary definitions for encumbering

encumber

incumber

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

Derived Formsencumberingly or incumberingly, adverb

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

Word Origin and History for encumbering

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.