incursion
Americannoun
-
a sudden invasion, attack, or raid
-
the act of running or leaking into; penetration
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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; see excursion
Explanation
When an army crosses a border into another country for battle, they are making an incursion into enemy territory. An incursion is an invasion as well as an attack. Incursion can also be used to describe other things that rush in like an army such as an invasive species into a new region or floodwaters entering your home. When an airplane heads onto a runway it is not supposed to land on, risking airport safety, it is known as a runway incursion. And an incursion of cold air could make September feel like December.
Vocabulary lists containing incursion
Lord of the Flies
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The Son of Neptune
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Texas v. Johnson (1989)
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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:
Shares fell amid persistent worries about a potential incursion in mobile service from SpaceX.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
One of Syrskyi's most famous operations was an incursion into Russia's Kursk region that started in August 2024.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
That incursion of private-label brands can be felt across the consumer-goods landscape.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
"We've been campaigning on planning issues and... the incursion of the city on the East End for quite a number of years," said Jonathan Moberly, who is leading local opposition.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
I put the blind back to how it was, checked I'd left no other traces of my incursion, slipped out, and flew downstairs to see who it was.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
It was an era of climate change, supply chain collapse, earthquakes, famine, disease, migration, drought and armed incursions and invasions.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
Crude oil futures were sliding as more barrels of oil moved through the Strait of Hormuz, although the risk of new military incursions remained strong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
In recent months, states across NATO's eastern flank have faced a raft of hostile actions from Moscow and Minsk ranging from drone incursions to cyberattacks.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Military drone incursions have become increasingly common across Europe since the beginning of Russia's full-scale of invasion of Ukraine.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
She owned herself for a few hours every week was how she looked at it, to tug weeds, pluck caterpillars, thin out the sour greens, and glare at anyone planning incursions on her territory.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
