impede C1 Topic:Space, Position & Direction US /ɪmˈpiːd/ See IPA manual Freq #33311 Meanings 1 verb To slow down or get in the way of something, making it harder. Heavy snow impeded the rescue team's progress up the mountain. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to slow down or get in the... hinderblock ↔ Opposites assistexpedeexpeditehelp Word family Forms impededimpedesimpeding Etymology AI details Borrowed from Latin impediō (“to shackle”), from pēs (“foot”) (compare pedestrian). First attested use as a verb was in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, see quotations. *ped- Proto-Indo-European impediō Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Space, Position & Direction External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # impede **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ɪmˈpiːd/ **Frequency rank:** 33311 ## Meanings 1. To slow down or get in the way of something, making it harder. ## Examples - Heavy snow impeded the rescue team's progress up the mountain. ## Antonyms - assist - expede - expedite - help ## Roots and Affixes - Root: *ped- - Root: impediō ## Etymology Borrowed from Latin impediō (“to shackle”), from pēs (“foot”) (compare pedestrian). First attested use as a verb was in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, see quotations. ## AI Etymology Impede is borrowed from Latin impediō (“to shackle”), from pēs (“foot”) (compare pedestrian). First attested use as a verb was in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, see quotations. In present-day use, it means to slow down or get in the way of something, making it harder. ## Topics - Space, Position & Direction markdown