incumbent

Meaning

Adj

1. Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.
2. Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.
3. Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.
4. (figuratively) Being the current holder of an office or a title; specifically (Christianity, obsolete), of an ecclesiastical benefice.
5. (figuratively) Oppressive, pressuring.
6. (figuratively) Followed by on or upon: imposed on one as an obligation, especially due to one's office or position.
7. (figuratively, poetic) Hanging or leaning over.
8. (figuratively, obsolete) Putting much effort into an activity or some work.
9. (figuratively, obsolete) Weighing on one's mind.

Noun

1. The current holder of an office or title; (specifically, Christianity) the holder of an ecclesiastical benefice.
2. A holder of a position as supplier to a market or market segment that allows the holder to earn above-normal profits.

Opposite of

nonincumbent

Synonyms

officeholder

obligatory

official

functionary

sitting

complaisant

compulsive

compulsory

cure

dignitary

government official

imminent

impending

in

jobholder

minister

necessary

obligational

obliging

occupant

office holder

officer

officiating

parson

pastor

priest

requisite

seated

tailored

toward

trim

vicar

white-collar

white-collar worker

government employee

incumbent on

present post

accommodating

current office

acting

bounden

civil servant

clergyman

Translations

titulaire

in carica

titular

görevli

Amtsinhaber

titular

yükümlü

titolare

amtierend

titular

ödevli

memur

obligatorio

incumbido

encarregado

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɪnˈkʌmb(ə)nt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: incumbent

Inherited from Middle English: -ent

In summary

From Latin incumbentem + English -ent (suffix denoting the causing, doing, or promoting of an action). Incumbentem is the accusative singular of incumbēns (“reclining”), the present active participle of incumbō (“to lay upon, to lean or recline on; to fall upon, to press down on”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘against; into; on, upon’) + *cumbō (“to lie down, recline”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb-).