incumbent

¹in·cum·bent

noun \in-ˈkəm-bənt\

Definition of INCUMBENT

1

: the holder of an office or ecclesiastical benefice

2

: one that occupies a particular position or place

Examples of INCUMBENT

1. Voters will have the chance to see the incumbent and her opponent in a series of three debates.
2. Incumbents often have an advantage in elections.
3. Because the statehouse now determines voting districts, the current map generally ensures that incumbents face minimal challenges to re-election. —Terry McCarthy, Time, 20 Dec. 2004
4. When Reagan and Clinton were seeking re-election, they didn't go after their opponents directly, in part because they didn't have to. Those incumbents knew that there's a point at which strong and tough can look weak and desperate. —Jonathan Alter, Newsweek, 9 Aug. 2004
5. Jane Austen was born into the downwardly mobile branch of an upper-middle-class family. … None of the Austen children could inherit the family home from their father, a Church of England clergyman; after his death it would go to the next incumbent. —Kevin Barry, New York Times Book Review, 7 Dec. 1997

Origin of INCUMBENT

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin incumbent-, incumbens, present participle of incumbere to lie down on, from in- + -cumbere to lie down; akin to cubare to lie

First Known Use: 15th century

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

Rhymes with INCUMBENT

decumbent, procumbent, recumbent