incumbent UK /ɪnˈkʌmb(ə)nt/US /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/adjective 9noun 2forms 3 adjective9 •Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.Then with expanded wings he stears his flight / Aloft, incumbent on the dusky Air / That felt unusual weight, […] — 1667 •Being the current holder of an office or a title; specifically (Christianity, obsolete), of an ecclesiastical benefice.If the incumbent senator dies, he is replaced by a person appointed by the governor. •(figurative) Followed by on or upon: imposed on one as an obligation, especially due to one's office or position.Proper behaviour is incumbent on all holders of positions of trust. •(figurative) Oppressive, pressuring.The North must again have been alarmed, and agitated, by the invasion of the Huns; and the nations vvho retreated before them, must have pressed vvith incumbent vveight on the confines of Germany. — 1781 •Of an anther: lying on the inner side of the filament; also, of a cotyledon: having its back lying against the radicle. •Of a body part such as a hair, spine, or wing: bent downwards or otherwise positioned so that it, or part of it, rests on or touches something else; specifically (ornithology), of the hind toe of a bird: fully resting on a support. •(literary) Hanging or leaning over.Hath the cleft Centre open'd vvide to Thee? / Death's inmost Chambers didst Thou ever see? / E'er knock at his tremendous Gate, and vvade / To the black Portal thro' th' incumbent Shade? — 1719 •(figurative, no longer used) Weighing on one's mind. •(figurative, no longer used) Putting much effort into an activity or some work.And lovve menne spiritually are suche, as are incumbente and dooe rest on filthy or vile and transitory thynges. — 1549 noun2 •The current holder of an office or title; (specifically, Christianity) the holder of an ecclesiastical benefice.He has always remained friendly to me, though before his promotion, when he was an incumbent of this diocese, we had a little controversy about the Bible Society. — 1876 •A holder of a position as supplier to a market or market segment that allows the holder to earn above-normal profits. formsincumbents · more incumbent · most incumbent