infringe
Americanverb (used with object)
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infringes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
infringed,
past participle, past
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infringing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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infringes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
infringed,
past participle, past
-
infringing
present participle
verb
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(tr) to violate or break (a law, an agreement, etc)
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(intr; foll by on or upon) to encroach or trespass
Synonym Usage
See trespass.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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infringesimple
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infringessimple
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have infringedperfect
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has infringedperfect
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am infringingprogressive
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are infringingprogressive
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is infringingprogressive
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have been infringingperfect progressive
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has been infringingperfect progressive
Past
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infringedsimple
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had infringedperfect
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was infringingprogressive
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were infringingprogressive
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had been infringingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of infringe
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin infringere “to break, weaken,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + -fringere, combining form of frangere “to break”; akin to break
Explanation
When you infringe on someone's space, time, or rights, you're getting involved in a way that is not cool. That's why, when you violate a copyright, you're said to infringe upon it. Infringe is almost always used with the prepositions "on" or "upon," as in, "if you infringe on my rights, I'll sue you." Nobody knows why that's the case. Our language is full of rules and traditions that just are the way they are. We call these phrases "idiomatic." To infringe "on" or "upon" something is one of those. You don't infringe "into" someone's conversation. You infringe "upon" it. Case closed.
Vocabulary lists containing infringe
The Bill of Rights
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List 6
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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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.
See Examples For:
From what you’re saying, this won’t infringe upon your values and would make you a more efficient worker.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Economic order came through the Constitution, which established checks and balances between the branches, divided responsibility between the state and federal governments, and enumerated individual rights that government couldn’t infringe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
It said the intervention was needed to prevent "serious and irreparable harm to competition in this growing market by Meta's conduct", which it said appeared to infringe EU competition rules.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
Arguably worse, he tries to stop RIH from “aiding,” “abetting,” or “encouraging” anyone else from asking these courts for help, reaching far beyond the hospital to infringe upon the rights of nonparties.
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
Back when he was thinking about getting married, he worried that taking walks with his wife would infringe on his work time.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
"This will prevent serious and irreparable harm to competition in this growing market by Meta's conduct, which at first sight infringes EU competition rules," the commission said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
For pupils, however, it can mean undignified waits or requests to go, which they say "infringes on human rights".
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
“We stand against any move that violates the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and infringes upon other countries’ sovereignty and security,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
However, in Skrmetti, the court denied a petition by minors and their parents that argued the ban also infringes on parental rights protected under the due process clause.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2025
In the dictionary a pirate is defined as "a sea-robber, marauder, one who infringes another's copyright"; while a buccaneer is described as "a sea-robber, a pirate, especially of the Spanish-American coasts."
From The Pirates' Who's Who Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And Buccaneers by Philip Gosse
Some felt it infringed on their sense of nostalgia.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The lawsuit claimed the invention infringed on Edison’s own work—a familiar maneuver in an era when patent law functioned as both shield and weapon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
"Have they infringed the trademark in their crest? Or design rights in their shirt? For that kind of image, that's what a club or an individual would likely be looking at."
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
Last year, the celebrity video platform Cameo sued OpenAI, alleging that the San Francisco company infringed its trademark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
“All revival falls under the auspices of the Thunderhead, and we are here to make sure its domain is not infringed upon.”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
They were controversial events because some were staged in Europe, infringing on territory that had previously been the traditional domain of the DP World Tour.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The drugmakers accused Moderna of infringing on several patents covering lipid nanoparticle technology, which is a critical component of Moderna’s mRNA vaccines.
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
Many of the clips are based on real actors, TV shows and films, and major US studios have now demanded that it must "immediately cease" infringing copyright.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
MPA’s CEO, Charles Rivkin, wrote in a statement that the company “should immediately cease its infringing activity.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
Gran’s eyes are wide, her smile infringing on her ears.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
