infract

American

[in-frakt] / ɪnˈfrækt /

verb (used with object)

to break, violate, or infringe (a law, commitment, etc.).

infract British

/ ɪnˈfrækt /

verb

(tr) to violate or break (a law, an agreement, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

infraction noun
infractor noun
uninfracted adjective

Etymology

Origin of infract

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Latin infrāctus, past participle of infringere “to break, bend, weaken,” equivalent to in- intensive prefix + frag- (variant stem of frangere “to break”) + -tus past participle suffix; akin to break. See in- ², infringe, frangible

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.

It's a fixture that inverts the stereotypical differences between north and south, and proves that opposites infract.

From The Guardian • Jan. 5, 2013

These feudal tenures were established in law; woe to the tenant who presumed to infract them!

From History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. I Conditions in Settlement and Colonial Times by Gustavus, Myers

But even after recreation, with that day's lessons safely out, punished and expiated, Pupasse's doom seemed scarcely lightened; there was still a whole criminal code of conduct to infract.

From Balcony Stories by King, Grace E.

Petter," said he, "I don't ask you to infract your rules.

From The Squirrel Inn by Stockton, Frank Richard

"But he will never venture to infract the neutrality of the waters surely," rejoined I, "within sight of the squadron too?"

From Tom Cringle's Log by Scott, Michael

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023