encumbrance

[ en-kuhm-bruhns ]

/ ɛnˈkʌm brəns /

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See synonyms for: encumbrance / encumbrances on Thesaurus.com

noun

something that encumbers; something burdensome, useless, or superfluous; burden; hindrance: Poverty was a lifelong encumbrance.

a dependent person, especially a child.

Law. a burden or claim on property, as a mortgage.

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Also in·cum·brance

[in-kuhm-bruhns] /ɪnˈkʌm brəns/ .

Origin of encumbrance

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English encombraunce, from Middle French encumbrance; see origin at encumber, -ance

Words nearby encumbrance

encrypt, encryption, enculturate, enculturation, encumber, encumbrance, encumbrancer, -ency, encyclical, encyclopedia, encyclopedic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use encumbrance in a sentence

So I would say it’s potentially a significant encumbrance to doing business.
'Like Shooting a Moving Target.' This Company Is Trying to Withdraw from Russia. It's Getting Complicated|Belinda Luscombe|June 1, 2022|Time
Often, those restrictions will more heavily constrain Democratic voters for whom added bureaucracy is a more challenging encumbrance.
Elevating doubt is the point|Philip Bump|May 27, 2021|Washington Post
For developers this is both incredibly freeing — a chance to make it big without all the encumbrance of a traditional studio — but also supremely precarious.
On Discord, bots find a foothold as mini indie success stories|Luke Winkie|March 25, 2021|Washington Post
He points to the hassles of regulatory compliance and warding off hacks as an unnecessary encumbrance on businesses.
Very Good Security raises $60 million to make data force fields for DoorDash, Brex|rhhackettfortune|December 21, 2020|Fortune

In LA, Don is an outsider; a Madison Avenue interloper; an encumbrance.
What's Happened to Don Draper? Why Everyone’s Favorite ‘Mad Men’ Stud Needs His Mojo Back|Lizzie Crocker|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dangerfield was no longer conscious of anything but an angry determination to revolt, to be free of all encumbrance.
The Woman Gives|Owen Johnson
The cargo of the sloop hoisted on to the deck by the capstan, compact as he had made it, was an encumbrance.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo
So desperate had been the charge that our little craft was now actually a serious encumbrance to the monster.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont|Louis de Rougemont
An' sell Bruno; he's a vicious brute—nothin' but an encumbrance.
Two Little Travellers|Frances Browne Arthur
They set to work together to remove the irons, and his legs were at length freed from this encumbrance at about five oclock.
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 1/2|Camden Pelham

British Dictionary definitions for encumbrance

encumbrance

incumbrance

/ (ɪnˈkʌmbrəns) /

noun

a thing that impedes or is burdensome; hindrance

law a burden or charge upon property, such as a mortgage or lien

rare a dependent person, esp a child

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

encumbrance

Origin of encumbrance

Words nearby encumbrance

Words related to encumbrance

How to use encumbrance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for encumbrance

incumbrance