Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Imposed as an obligation or duty; obligatory.
  • adjective Lying, leaning, or resting on something else.
  • adjective Currently holding a specified office.
  • noun A person who holds an office or ecclesiastical benefice.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In geology, resting upon: said of one series of strata which is supported by a subjacent one.
  • Lying or resting on something.
  • Specifically
  • Lying, leaning, or resting lengthwise, in whole or in part, upon a surface to which there is only one point of actual attachment or none.
  • Lying or resting as a duty or obligation; imposed, and pressing to performance.
  • noun One who discharges stated functions; the holder of an office of any kind; especially, one who discharges ecclesiastical functions; one who holds a benefice.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A person who is in present possession of a benefice or of any office.
  • adjective Lying; resting; reclining; recumbent; superimposed; superincumbent.
  • adjective Lying, resting, or imposed, as a duty or obligation; obligatory; always with on or upon.
  • adjective (Bot.) Leaning or resting; -- said of anthers when lying on the inner side of the filament, or of cotyledons when the radicle lies against the back of one of them.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) Bent downwards so that the ends touch, or rest on, something else.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Imposed on someone as an obligation, especially due to one's office.
  • adjective geology Resting on something else.
  • adjective Being the current holder of an office or a title.
  • noun The current holder of an office, such as ecclesiastical benefice or an elected office.
  • noun business A holder of a position as supplier to a market or market segment that allows the holder to earn above-normal profits.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the official who holds an office
  • adjective currently holding an office
  • adjective lying or leaning on something else
  • adjective necessary (for someone) as a duty or responsibility; morally binding

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, holder of an office, from Medieval Latin incumbēns, incumbent-, from Latin, present participle of incumbere, to lean upon, apply oneself to : in-, on; see in– + -cumbere, to recline.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English, from stem incumbent-, of Medieval Latin incumbēns ("holder of a church position"), from Latin present participle of incumbō ("I lie down upon").

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Examples

  • Khosla went after what he called "incumbent capitalism," in which government policy and incentives are designed not to encourage competition and innovation, but to protect entrenched incumbent interests, with coal, oil, nuclear, and utility monopolies being the most spectacular beneficiaries of this bias against innovation.

    Carl Pope: The End of Incumbent Capitalism? Carl Pope 2011

  • Khosla went after what he called "incumbent capitalism," in which government policy and incentives are designed not to encourage competition and innovation, but to protect entrenched incumbent interests, with coal, oil, nuclear, and utility monopolies being the most spectacular beneficiaries of this bias against innovation.

    Carl Pope: The End of Incumbent Capitalism? Carl Pope 2011

  • Khosla went after what he called "incumbent capitalism," in which government policy and incentives are designed not to encourage competition and innovation, but to protect entrenched incumbent interests, with coal, oil, nuclear, and utility monopolies being the most spectacular beneficiaries of this bias against innovation.

    Carl Pope: The End of Incumbent Capitalism? Carl Pope 2011

  • Khosla went after what he called "incumbent capitalism," in which government policy and incentives are designed not to encourage competition and innovation, but to protect entrenched incumbent interests, with coal, oil, nuclear, and utility monopolies being the most spectacular beneficiaries of this bias against innovation.

    Carl Pope: The End of Incumbent Capitalism? Carl Pope 2011

  • They 're trying to, and sort of -- I was in the Eighth District, where Patrick Murphy, the incumbent, two-term incumbent, is facing off against Mike Fitzpatrick, a former congressman.

    A Reformer Departs 2010

  • Khosla went after what he called "incumbent capitalism," in which government policy and incentives are designed not to encourage competition and innovation, but to protect entrenched incumbent interests, with coal, oil, nuclear, and utility monopolies being the most spectacular beneficiaries of this bias against innovation.

    Carl Pope: The End of Incumbent Capitalism? Carl Pope 2011

  • If the incumbent is a Republican, then my anti-incumbent fever is very strong.

    How strong is anti-incumbent fever? 2010

  • Ones encouragement of the electorate to be cross with the incumbent is the primary component and second is a posture designed to deflect existing disquiet about yourselves.

    A Wee Fib Newmania 2007

  • Meanwhile, the other liberal group trying to defeat the incumbent is the Save the 48th PAC.

    Sound Politics: Liberal PACs not yet investing much in Esser race 2006

  • You do that through what we call incumbent worker training.

    unknown title 2009

Comments

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  • It gave patients an opportunity once a year to compare notes on the medical records of both the challenger and incumbent.

    September 14, 2010

  • salaries of job incumbents in his or her company

    February 18, 2011