encumberment

noun

"encumberment" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“encumberment” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - encumbrance

Corpus desk

Index EN-encumberment · encumberment · English

encumberment · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for encumberment
PropertyValue
Headwordencumberment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “encumberment” in English

encumbermentranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

encumberment is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "encumbrance".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for encumberment, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English encombrement, from Old French encombrement. By surface analysis, encumber + -ment. The correct English form is encumberment, spelled E-N-C-U-M-B-E-R-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    encumbrance

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how encumberment appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The paths of art, so choked and so dangerous, are, despite encumberment and obstacles, day by day more crowded, and consequently Bohemians were never more numerous.
  2. Then she realized that, in a peculiar lapse of abstraction, she had forgotten about his encumberment.

Etymology

From Middle English encombrement, from Old French encombrement. By surface analysis, encumber + -ment.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "encumberment"?
"encumberment" is spelled E-N-C-U-M-B-E-R-M-E-N-T.
What does "encumberment" mean?
As a noun, "encumberment" means: encumbrance
What is the origin of the word "encumberment"?
From Middle English encombrement, from Old French encombrement. By surface analysis, encumber + -ment. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list