The word 嵌入式 is formed by combining 嵌, meaning "to inlay" or "embed", with 入, meaning "to enter" or "insert", and 式, meaning "style" or "type"; the characters 嵌 and 入 together convey the action of embedding, while 式 nominalizes the compound to denote a category or system characterized by being embedded, such as in embedded computing.