encroachment
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Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
The new technology was all the more vital given the frequency with which viruses are now emerging due to population growth, greater movement across borders and human encroachment on animal habitats, he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
And yet, the encroachment on academic freedom has become both more extreme and more inchoate.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
School districts could simply use the new money to reduce this encroachment, freeing funds for other purposes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
Akbarzadeh said Iran would “not allow any kind of encroachment upon its waters and interests.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
They were responding to Sitting Bull’s message to gather and talk about the encroachment of the white people.
From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III
They are also blocked by motorcycles, swallowed by parked cars, encroachments or excavated for utility works.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Patrolling has also reduced small-scale encroachments, but infrastructure projects including multiple dams are still driving deforestation.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
In response, tech-savvy users are taking to social media platforms and encrypted messaging apps to warn their communities, in real time, of encroachments from immigration agents.
From Slate ● May 16, 2025
Under the agreement, the families will remove their encroachments and restore the public’s easement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2023
And while I can’t say I know her that well, Jupiter Charity-Sanchez doesn’t seem the type to take kindly to encroachments upon her territory.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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.
