Definitions of encumber
to create a legal encumbrance (=a mortgage, claim or other liability attached to a piece of property)
The people were told they could go where they liked, provided they did not encumber the land that was by rights their own.
to make it more difficult for someone or something to do something, to use something or to act or behave normally
Most people and most banks did not encumber themselves with mountains of unsecured debt.