impediment
noun
Did you know?
Impediment comes from a Latin verb that meant "to interfere with" or "to get in the way of progress", as if by tripping up the feet of someone walking. In English, impediment still suggests an obstruction or obstacle along a path; for example, a lack of adequate roads and bridges would be called an impediment to economic development. Impediments usually get in the way of something we want. So we may speak of an impediment to communication, marriage, or progress--but something that slows the progress of aging, disease, or decay is rarely called an impediment.
Examples of impediment in a Sentence
The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025
But Davis and Lively — who are both really centers that can't shoot — have clogged Dallas' spacing, and Flagg's size has occasionally been an impediment in covering younger guards.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
There are impediments, of course.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
And beyond bringing in a wider array of aid and rehabilitation supplies, aid groups must be allowed to operate safely and without impediment.
—Jeremy Konyndyk, Foreign Affairs, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impediment
Cite this Entry
“Impediment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impediment. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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impediment
noun
Medical Definition
impediment
noun
Legal Definition
impediment
noun
Penalber v. Blount, 550 So. 2d 577 (1989)
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