infraction
Americannoun
-
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:
He was additionally charged with the infraction of making an unlawful turn, according to Napa County Dist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
Yet images circulated online that seemed to show that granite being grazed by Canadian fingertips, and on Saturday the Swiss men’s team accused Canada of the same infraction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
There was another Blanche infraction this week that is, in many ways, equally shocking, even if it’s not getting the kind of press traction that the Maxwell interview did.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2025
Giving the attacking team an almost guaranteed goal for something can be a really minor infraction by the defender is wildly disproportionate.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025
They weren’t sure whether what had just happened represented a training infraction or not, but they feared it might.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Fines for such infractions in West Newport Beach and the Peninsula — dubbed safety enhancement zones — will be tripled through July 6.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
And EPA data shows that its pattern of reported infractions has continued in recent years.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
What if they acknowledge the president can fire for cause, but simply argue that infractions must occur when a governor is in office?
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
The legal action is part of a wave of legal battles over trade secrets in the AI sector, with companies such as Elon Musk’s xAI suing ex-employees and competitors for alleged infractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
He’s been here a few years longer than me, but has probably twenty or thirty more infractions.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
Definitions 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.
