adjective
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awkward because of size, weight, or shape
cumbersome baggage
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difficult because of extent or complexity
cumbersome accounts
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cumbersome
First recorded in 1325–75, cumbersome is from the Middle English word cummyrsum. See cumber, -some 1
Explanation
You have to wrestle a bit with the longish word cumbersome; it's cumbersome, or kind of long and clumsy, to tumble out in a sentence. It's hard to use it gracefully. A "cumber" is something that slows you down, and though the words aren't related, "lumber" includes big pieces of heavy wood, which might slow down the person carrying them. Moving lumber is cumbersome, because it's a heavy and awkward job. Getting your laundry down the stairs or putting a Rottweiler in the bathtub can be cumbersome too.
Vocabulary lists containing cumbersome
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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ACT Vocabulary List
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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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.
But the transactions were cumbersome, slow and unreliable, and Tehran often had to settle for the money staying abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
The scanner aims to compete with more cumbersome MRI imaging by utilizing a shallow pool of water and sonic-wave technology to map the human body in roughly 60 seconds.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
"We don't have a national health program. It's much more cumbersome to streamline these types of programs, even though we know they're beneficial," Finkelstein said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
He started wearing them in 2022 or so and last year intended to retire them because they can be cumbersome to travel with.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
The process is so cumbersome, confusing, and onerous that many people who are theoretically eligible to vote never manage to get their voting rights back.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
