encroachment
AmericanOther Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of encroachment
1425–75; late Middle English encrochement < Anglo-French. See encroach, -ment
Explanation
An encroachment is something that intrudes and has the power to influence whatever it encounters. Some might consider text messaging to be an encroachment of impersonal technology on true, heartfelt interactions. Encroachment carries the sense of something slowly creeping into something else's space, either literally or figuratively. An encroachment can be of the physical variety, such as the encroachment of new development into a beautiful coastal area. Encroachment typically has a slightly a negative meaning, hinting at something that intrudes on something and then spoils it in some way.
Vocabulary lists containing encroachment
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Federalist Papers, No. 51 by James Madison
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In California, the cats’ population faces several threats — including human encroachment, loss of habitat and prey due to wildfires, rat poison, disease and vehicle collisions.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
If the former Beatle does join them backstage, he may find that the encroachment of age has altered their pre-show rituals.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
However, such controversy narrows the issue of A.I.’s steady encroachment to one of process, rather than impact.
From Slate • Apr. 17, 2026
While banks have embraced some aspects of crypto—helping people invest in bitcoin and using digital assets to make money transfers more efficient—they are drawing a line at encroachment on their core business: consumer deposits.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
During the first three decades after the Treaty of Paris was signed, allied Indigenous nations in the Ohio Country and the southern states were involved in several struggles to resist settler encroachment.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
