incursion

[in-kur-zhuhn, -shuhn]

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.

incursion

/ ɪnˈkɜːsɪv, ɪnˈkɜːʃən /

noun

1. a sudden invasion, attack, or raid

2. the act of running or leaking into; penetration

Other Word Forms

• incursive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of incursion¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of incursion¹

C15: from Latin incursiō onset, attack, from incurrere to run into; see _incur

Example Sentences

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said ahead of the summit that airspace incursions were getting worse and that it was "reasonable to assume the drones are coming from Russia".

From BBC

The separate question of whether the tanker was used to launch last week's drone incursion into Danish airspace remains unresolved.

From BBC

EU leaders have been meeting in Copenhagen under pressure to boost European defence after a series of Russian incursions into EU airspace, and days after the drones targeted Danish airports.

From BBC

The incursions have become most acute for countries on the EU's eastern flank such as Poland and Estonia.

From BBC

"Strengthening our air defence system is an investment into security of the entire Europe," he said, referring to the recent incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace.

From BBC

Related Words

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