embedment
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em·bed
(ĕm-bĕd′) also im·bed (ĭm-)v. em·bed·ded, em·bed·ding, em·beds also im·bed·ded or im·bed·ding or im·beds
v.tr.
1. To fix firmly in a surrounding mass: embed a post in concrete; fossils embedded in shale.
2.
a. To cause to be an integral part of a surrounding whole: "a minor accuracy embedded in a larger untruth" (Ian Jack).
b. Linguistics To insert or position (a clause or phrase) within a clause or phrase.
c. Computers To insert (a virus, for example) into a software program.
3. To assign (a journalist) to travel with a military unit during an armed conflict.
4. Biology To enclose (a specimen) in a supporting material before sectioning for microscopic examination.
v.intr.
To become embedded: The harpoon struck but did not embed.
n. (ĕm′bĕd′)
One that is embedded, especially a journalist who is assigned to an active military unit.
em·bed′ment n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.