trespass
Americannoun
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Law.
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an unlawful act causing injury to the person, property, or rights of another, committed with force or violence, actual or implied.
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a wrongful entry upon the lands of another.
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the action to recover damages for such an injury.
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an encroachment or intrusion.
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an offense, sin, or wrong.
verb (used without object)
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Law. to commit a trespass.
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to encroach on a person's privacy, time, etc.; infringe (usually followed by on orupon ).
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to commit a transgression or offense; transgress; offend; sin.
verb
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to go or intrude (on the property, privacy, or preserves of another) with no right or permission
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law to commit trespass, esp to enter wrongfully upon land belonging to another
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archaic (often foll by against) to sin or transgress
noun
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law
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any unlawful act committed with force or violence, actual or implied, which causes injury to another person, his property, or his rights
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a wrongful entry upon another's land
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an action to recover damages for such injury or wrongful entry
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an intrusion on another's privacy or preserves
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a sin or offence
Synonym Usage
Trespass , encroach , infringe , intrude imply overstepping boundaries and assuming possession of others' property or crowding onto the right of others. To trespass is to pass unlawfully within the boundaries of another's property: Hunters trespass on a farmer's fields. To encroach is to creep, gradually and often stealthily, upon territory, rights, or privileges, so that a footing is imperceptibly established: The sea slowly encroached upon the land. To infringe is to break in upon or invade rights, customs, or the like, by violating or disregarding them: to infringe upon a patent. To intrude is to thrust oneself into the presence of a person or into places or circumstances where one is not welcome: to intrude into a private conversation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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trespasssimple
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trespassessimple
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have trespassedperfect
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has trespassedperfect
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am trespassingprogressive
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are trespassingprogressive
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is trespassingprogressive
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have been trespassingperfect progressive
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has been trespassingperfect progressive
Past
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trespassedsimple
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had trespassedperfect
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was trespassingprogressive
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were trespassingprogressive
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had been trespassingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of trespass
First recorded in 1250–1300; (noun) Middle English trespas “transgression, offense,” from Old French, derivative of trespasser, equivalent to tres- (from Latin trāns- trans- ) + passer “to pass” ( see pass); (verb) Middle English trespassen, derivative of the noun
Explanation
To trespass is to illegally enter someone's property or overstep your bounds in another way. Have you ever seen a "No trespassing" sign? If so, you probably know it means "Keep out" and that trespassing is to go somewhere unlawfully. If you break into a store that's closed or enter a stranger's yard, you're trespassing and could be arrested. Also, trespassing refer to other types of stepping over boundaries. If you lie to a friend, that's a type of trespassing. Taking advantage of someone is trespassing. Both kinds of trespassing are violations.
Vocabulary lists containing trespass
Prince (1958-2016) Tribute List
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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.
She visited them on set at 10 weeks old and later went on to be in films including the Michael Fassbender-starring Trespass Against Us.
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2025
The couple reached the summit Sunday and were making their way back down the Trespass Trail when Sgrignoli’s girlfriend, whom authorities didn’t publicly identify, grew ill from the high temperature, Raney said.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2022
Chicago, for example, to address rampant carjacking, uses "Criminal Trespass to Vehicle Workshops" which involves showing teens video series of crime victim interviews.
From Fox News • Dec. 24, 2021
Capitol, Clark did not broach the idea of reinstating the Trespass Team.
From Reuters • Dec. 3, 2021
In 1784, when the Trespass Act threw New York into confusion, Hamilton had come to be regarded as one of the most powerful advocates in the country.
From The Critical Period of American History by Fiske, John
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.
