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.

---

incursion British  

/ ɪnˈkɜːsɪv, ɪnˈkɜːʃən /

noun

1. a sudden invasion, attack, or raid

2. the act of running or leaking into; penetration

---

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

Completely marginalized during the administration’s Venezuela incursion, she was not even being invited to the White House Situation Room to observe the operation.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026

At Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square, cafes are crowded with customers, ready on a moment’s notice to put down their coffee cups and file calmly toward the nearest bunker in the event of an air incursion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

It is America’s largest Middle East incursion since Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003—and so far, the stock market back home has shrugged it off.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

When Tuchel accepted the England job, it was his first incursion into the international arena.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026

The first European incursion of the Black Death, in 1347-51, was a classic virgin-soil epidemic; mutation had just created the pulmonary version of the bacillus Yersiniapestis.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

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