encroach

[ en-krohch ]

verb (used without object)

1. to advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits; make gradual inroads:

   A dictatorship of the majority is encroaching on the rights of the individual.

2. to trespass upon the property, domain, or rights of another, especially stealthily or by gradual advances.

encroach

/ ɪnˈkrəʊtʃ /

verb

1. often foll byon or upon to intrude gradually, stealthily, or insidiously upon the rights, property, etc, of another
2. to advance beyond the usual or proper limits

Derived Forms

• enˈcroacher, noun
• enˈcroachment, noun
• enˈcroachingly, adverb

Other Words From

• en·croach·er noun
• un·en·croached adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of encroach¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English encrochen, from Anglo-French encrocher, Old French encrochier “to catch hold of, seize,” equivalent to en- en- ¹ + -crochier, verbal derivative of croc “hook,” from Germanic; crooked, crook ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of encroach¹

C14: from Old French encrochier to seize, literally: fasten upon with hooks, from en- ¹+ croc hook, of Germanic origin; see crook

Synonym Study

See trespass.

Example Sentences

As she saw Mehta lurking nearby, she asked Mehta not to encroach.

From Washington Post

That allows you to zip away from any cars that you think might be encroaching into your space, but it also means that you can scare yourself if you twist it too much.

From Popular-Science

Confirmed cases of Lyme in the US have doubled since the ’90s, when housing developments increasingly encroached into rural areas and created patchy forest remnants.

From Popular-Science

That reality has been driven home repeatedly for legacy brands that have watched emerging direct-to-consumer brands encroach on their territory with innovative new models for connecting with and advertising to consumers.

From Digiday

Nearby coastal states like Oregon and Washington are also seeing record blazes, some of which are encroaching on major population centers.

From Vox

In the east, the Chinese army continues periodically to encroach on Indian territory.

From The Daily Beast

Any attempt to encroach on it, even by an iota, will ultimately lead to our enslavement by a federal tyranny.

From The Daily Beast

How does this symbolize constraints on girls and women, and encroach on our right to be simply as we are, at any given moment?

From The Daily Beast

He got really mad when they started to encroach on his personal life.

From The Daily Beast

The goods manager was not aggressive, and it was sometimes thought that Mathieson inclined to encroach upon his territory.

From Project Gutenberg

He was suddenly ashamed, humbled, feeling in her love a quality upon which no shameful circumstance could encroach.

From Project Gutenberg

Give Great Britain time to encroach and fortify upon all our frontiers?

From Project Gutenberg

As the tent was found to encroach partly on the same crevasse, it may be imagined that we did not dally long over the meal.

From Project Gutenberg

Vines threatened to engulf the circling street of sepulchers in greenery and bloom, and grass to encroach on the flower plots.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• horn in
• impinge
• infringe
• intrude
• trespass
• usurp