infringed
Americanadjective
-
violated, transgressed, or encroached upon, as a regulation, restriction, or right.
The costs of enforcing an infringed patent can be exceedingly high.
He complained that CCTV was an ever more common security measure for which we all pay the price of infringed privacy.
-
illegally copied, distributed, or sold, as in contravention of a copyright or patent.
A judge dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the allegedly infringed material lacked the requisite originality.
-
relating to or being someone whose copyright, patent, etc., has been violated.
When awarding damages, it must be considered how wealthy the infringed company could have been without the infringement.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of infringed
First recorded in 1590–1600; 1955–60 infringed for def. 2; infringe + -ed 2 for the adjective senses; infringe + -ed 1 for the verb sense
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.
The lawsuit claimed the invention infringed on Edison’s own work—a familiar maneuver in an era when patent law functioned as both shield and weapon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
"Have they infringed the trademark in their crest? Or design rights in their shirt? For that kind of image, that's what a club or an individual would likely be looking at."
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
The ruling by judge Eumi Kim Lee signals that Cameo is likely to prove that OpenAI infringed on its trademark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
If it infringed free speech for the SEC rule to require potential corporate acquirers to disclose their 5% stake in a stock, then most financial disclosure requirements would fail muster, the judge said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
But each such error reflected negatively on his parents’ guidance and infringed on the community’s sense of order and success.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
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.
