impingement

American  

[im-pinj-muhnt] / ɪmˈpɪndʒ mənt /

noun

impingements plural

1. the act or fact of encroaching or infringing.

   This is an impingement on the fundamental right of free speech.

2. the act or fact of striking or touching something, or the effect produced by this.

   The impingement on the diamond’s hard crystal surface is due to oxygen in the air.

3. Medicine/Medical. the act or fact of interfering with something, especially a nerve, through contact or pressure.

   Impingement on the nerves can be relieved by removing the portion of the bone compressing the neural structures.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• impingements
  plural

Etymology

Origin of impingement

impinge ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

impingement impingements

Rand’s Objectivist school regarded capitalism as morally superior to other systems and condemned government regulation as an impingement on the freedom of the individual.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Sasaki’s transition to MLB, however, was interrupted by what the Dodgers called a right shoulder impingement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

Sasaki started using it in April, before a four-month recovery from a right shoulder impingement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2025

At the start of the season, Sasaki made eight underwhelming starts — with wild command and declining fastball velocity contributing to a 4.72 ERA — before being sidelined by a shoulder impingement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025

Eight forms of electric lamps using infusible earthy oxides and brought to high incandescence in vacuo by high potential current of several thousand volts; same character as impingement of X-rays on object in bulb.

From Edison, His Life and Inventions by Dyer, Frank Lewis

Instead of loneliness and grief or outcries over impingements on their freedom, they’ve gotten used to a routine of short-term pain for collective gain.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2021

Phelps was acquired from Miami last July and then did two stints on the disabled list for right elbow impingements.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 22, 2018

The boating industry, and boaters themselves, often push back against what they see as impingements on their boating experiences.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 18, 2017

"There may be more subcorocoid vs. subacromional type shoulder impingements due to the internally rotated and forward flexed position of the shoulder and arm that occurs with each repeated swim stroke" Dr. Rodeo says.

From US News ● May 11, 2016

Only the most jaded appetite could linger without sharp impingements before these condensations and transformations of the kindly fruits of the earth.

From A Hoosier Chronicle by Yohn, F. C. (Frederick Coffay)