incursion

American  

[in-kur-zhuhn, -shuhn] / ɪnˈkɜr ʒən, -ʃən /

noun

1. a hostile entrance into or invasion of a place or territory, especially a sudden one; raid.

   The bandits made brief incursions on the village.

   Synonyms:

   attack, foray, sortie

2. a harmful inroad.

3. a running in.

   the incursion of sea water.

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incursion British  

/ ɪnˈkɜːsɪv, ɪnˈkɜːʃən /

noun

1. a sudden invasion, attack, or raid

2. the act of running or leaking into; penetration

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Other Word Forms

• incursive adjective

Etymology

Origin of incursion

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin incursiōn- (stem of incursiō ) raid, equivalent to incurs ( us ) (past participle of incurrere to incur ) + -iōn- -ion; excursion

Example Sentences

Cuba and Venezuela have disclosed few details about the U.S. military incursion.

From The Wall Street Journal

Groups of passersby stopped outside the city’s La Carlota air base—one of the sites targeted in Saturday’s military incursion —to take photos, exchanging pleasantries as they snapped photos of the bombed site.

From The Wall Street Journal

Economics and the Americas are at the heart of his recently released national-security strategy: “We want a Hemisphere that remains free of hostile foreign incursion or ownership of key assets.”

From The Wall Street Journal

He told reporters on Air Force One that oil companies were contacted both before and after the incursion.

From MarketWatch

Tankers headed to Venezuela changed course or became stationary following Saturday’s predawn incursion.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• aggression
• attack
• foray
• infiltration
• inroad
• intrusion
• penetration
• raid