infraction
Americannoun
-
infractions
plural
-
breach; violation; infringement.
an infraction of the rules.
-
Medicine/Medical. an incomplete fracture of a bone.
Synonym Usage
See breach.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of infraction
First recorded in 1615–25, infraction is from the Latin word infrāctiōn- (stem of infrāctiō ). See infract, -ion
Explanation
When you break school rules about gum chewing, you commit an infraction. An infraction is a petty crime or a minor breaking of rules. When you think of the word infraction, think that your offence has just crossed the line into wrong. Something like a parking ticket is an infraction. When you commit an infraction, you're not knee deep in wrong, you've just dipped your toe into wrong to see what it feels like. A misdemeanor is a more serious crime such as theft, and murder is considered a felony, the most serious of crimes.
Vocabulary lists containing infraction
The Giver
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Give Me a Break!: Fract and Frag
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Tangerine
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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:
She was also charged with an infraction for driving with a suspended or revoked license.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Alireza Faghani, the Australian referee, missed the infraction in real-time, but produced a red card after consulting with the video replay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
In other words, faculty can be fired for whatever infraction the school’s governing board decides is a fireable one.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
And without an umpire watching closely — or without video evidence — that kind of infraction can be difficult to spot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
I accrued last night’s infraction because my last clean blouse was the wrong color; it’s not as if I’ve magically acquired more white ones since then.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
The commission also regulates lobbying and can issue penalties for fundraising and other infractions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The 43-year-old polymath has also worked in real estate, is a musician and used to own a company that helped property owners deal with building-code infractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Those caught breaking the law face fixed penalty notices of £200 for a minor breach and criminal prosecution for more serious infractions.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
During the 2021-22 school year, before its wide-scale adoption of restorative justice, this district of roughly 20,000 students had almost 2,500 instances of violence, bullying and weapons infractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Miss Genovese gave you five infractions. Miss Genovese ran out of infractions to give you so instead she just hung a sandwich board of shame around your neck for your entire shift.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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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.
