encroach
verb (used without object)
to advance beyond proper, established, or usual limits; make gradual inroads.
had been encroaching
-
past perfect progressiveof encroach.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Trees that had been encroaching on the wetlands were felled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2024
The insurgents had been encroaching on Kandahar city, the capital of the province of the same name, for several weeks, capturing surrounding districts, before entering the city for the first time Friday.
From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2021
This secret subgroup took its name from September 1970, when King Hussein forced a showdown with fedayeen groups that had been encroaching on military and political power inside Jordan.
From Time Magazine Archive
Don Guzman had been encroaching, so it was alleged, and in other ways had been offensive and impertinent.
From The English in the West Indies or, The Bow of Ulysses by Froude, James Anthony
It did not entirely disappear, but it gave way to the stronger, though equally restricted art that had been encroaching upon it for a long time—the art of Byzantium.
From A Text-Book of the History of Painting by Van Dyke, John Charles
