incursion

American  

[in-kur-zhuhn, -shuhn] / ɪnˈkɜr ʒən, -ʃən /

noun

1. a hostile entrance into or invasion of a place or territory, especially a sudden one; raid.

   The bandits made brief incursions on the village.

   Synonyms:

   attack, foray, sortie

2. a harmful inroad.

3. a running in.

   the incursion of sea water.

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incursion British  

/ ɪnˈkɜːsɪv, ɪnˈkɜːʃən /

noun

1. a sudden invasion, attack, or raid

2. the act of running or leaking into; penetration

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Other Word Forms

• incursive adjective

Etymology

Origin of incursion

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin incursiōn- (stem of incursiō ) raid, equivalent to incurs ( us ) (past participle of incurrere to incur ) + -iōn- -ion; excursion

Example Sentences

While adverts have long bracketed sporting action on commercial television in the United Kingdom, it was the first time they had made a mid-match incursion into the viewing experience.

From BBC

With elephant incursions into Zambia growing, farmer Augustine Kumanga organized fellow residents to defend their land.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Foreign Ministry called the actions of the ICE officer an “attempted incursion…by ICE agents” and demanded they must “not be repeated.”

From Salon

Just before she came to Australia, the Kyiv native came close to being hit in one such incursion.

From Barron's

Services-company share prices were already on the upswing because of increased drilling in the Middle East and big offshore projects that would keep them working for years, when the U.S. incursion boosted them further.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• aggression
• attack
• foray
• infiltration
• inroad
• intrusion
• penetration
• raid