# incumbent

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɪnˈkʌmb(ə)nt/ · frequency rank #10,065

## Definitions
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. Being the current holder of an office or a title; specifically (Christianity, obsolete), of an ecclesiastical benefice.
5. Oppressive, pressuring.
6. Followed by on or upon: imposed on one as an obligation, especially due to one's office or position.
7. Hanging or leaning over.
8. Putting much effort into an activity or some work.
9. Weighing on one's mind.

## Etymology
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-).

## Common misspellings (14)
`icnumbent`, `inccumbent`, `incmubent`, `incubment`, `incumbbent`, `incumbennt`, `incumbentt`, `incumbetn`, `incumbnet`, `incumebnt`, `incummbent`, `inncumbent`, `inucmbent`, `nicumbent`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/incumbent