incumbency

noun

in·​cum·​ben·​cy in-ˈkəm-bən(t)-sē 

plural incumbencies

1

: the sphere of action or period of office of an incumbent

2

: the quality or state of being incumbent

3

: something that is incumbent : duty

Synonyms

• burden
• charge
• commitment
• devoir
• do [archaic]
• duty
• imperative
• need
• obligation
• office
• responsibility

Examples of incumbency in a Sentence

Hundreds of new jobs were created during her incumbency.

the advantages of incumbency during an election

a politician seeking to keep his incumbency

Recent Examples on the Web

The time for Biden to have resigned was over the summer, when the momentum of history and incumbency could have done Harris some good. —Leonard Greene, Orlando Sentinel, 23 Nov. 2024

For example, candidates can be inexperienced or a bad fit for a state in ways not captured by our quantitative metrics on experience and incumbency. —G. Elliott Morris, ABC News, 23 Oct. 2024

But the situation in the U.S., where the Democrats bear the burden of incumbency and the Republicans the challenge of their own extremism, is more similar to France, where the results have been tenuous and split. —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2024

The stablecoin wars, like the battle for home video, will not be decided by better tech or incumbency, but by the applications. —Christian Catalini jane Wu, Harvard Business Review, 6 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1608, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

incumbency

noun

in·​cum·​ben·​cy in-ˈkəm-bən-sē 

plural incumbencies

: the time during which a person holds an office or position