From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishincumbentin‧cum‧bent1 /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/ noun [countable] formal PGOBECsomeone who has been elected to an official position, especially in politics, and who is doing that job at the present time In the June elections, Morris easily defeated the incumbent, Tom Smith.
Examples from the Corpus
incumbent• An incumbent by definition is the status quo.• Races for the U. S. Senate, on the other hand, favor incumbents.• The 50-year-old incumbent and the 72-year-old challenger appeared equally relaxed, forceful and well rehearsed.• He decided to dispense with the goodlooking, personable high-achiever destined to succeed and instead back the incumbent of this space.• Steiner easily beat the incumbent to become governor.• It was a role befitting a challenger debating the incumbent.• The incumbent is now off in hot pursuit of government funding for the much-enlarged interoperability lab, see above.incumbentincumbent2 adjective formal 1 → it is incumbent upon/on somebody to do something2 → the incumbent president/priest/government etcExamples from the Corpus
incumbent• Mitchell was to face Republican incumbent Carroll Campbell.• He was defeated by incumbent Democrat J. Bennett Johnston who polled 54 percent.• In addition, incumbent firms have actively carried out strategic moves.• Carter suffered the worse electoral defeat of any incumbent President ever, including Herbert Hoover in 1932.• Bhattarai, the incumbent Prime Minister, had lost his seat in the election.From Longman Business Dictionaryincumbentin‧cum‧bent1 /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/ noun [countable]1the person who has a particular job or position at this time, rather than one who wants it or may have it laterNine out of ten incumbents who seek re-election win.2the company that has work from a particular customer at this timeThe company decided to move the account from the incumbent, Grey Advertising, to another agency.incumbentincumbent2 adjective it is incumbent on somebody to do something formal if it is incumbent on you to do something, it is your duty or responsibility to do itIt is incumbent on us to finalize this transaction so that our shareholders can receive their annual premium.Origin incumbent1 (1400-1500) Latin present participle of incumbere “to lie down on” 