encroach
verb (used without object)
to advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits; make gradual inroads.
encroached
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past participleof encroach.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof encroach.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
encroachverb (used without object)to advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits; make gradual inroads.
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.
The meta-reality and meta-commentary of the broadcast encroached on and eventually overtook the game on the field.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026
At the time, Lord Rennard apologised if he had "inadvertently encroached" upon "personal space".
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
Although the technology has encroached on people’s everyday lives in small and large ways, this seemed to be a more egregious example of it in housing.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2025
By the 1860s, the U.S. government reduced the Crow’s land to a much smaller strip, and the park’s creation further encroached on tribal lands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
The road had been made in a long lost time, and for perhaps thirty miles below the Morannon it had been newly repaired, but as it went south the wild encroached upon it.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
