infringement
Americannoun
-
a breach or infraction, as of a law, right, or obligation; violation; transgression.
-
an act of infringing.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of infringement
Explanation
An infringement is a minor offense that involves breaking a rule or a law. If your sister takes a chapter from your book and publishes it as her own, you could sue her for copyright infringement. An infringement can result in legal penalties if you’re breaking a law, as in the case of a copyright infringement or a patent infringement. An infringement can also be a violation of a rule or an agreement that applies in a specific situation. In that case there are no legal consequences, but there are still penalties. If the referee sees an infringement of the rules during your soccer game, he’ll penalize your team by awarding your opponents a free kick.
Vocabulary lists containing infringement
Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
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“Vaccine Controversy Shows Why We Need Markets, Not Mandates” by Ron Paul
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for March 27–April 2, 2021
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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:
The company had earlier sued Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for trademark infringement.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
The Meat Wall acts as a loophole because it traps the goalkeeper on his line, blocking him from even attempting a catch, which lowers the likelihood of an infringement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
UMG and WMG sued AI companies Udio and Suno in 2024, accusing them of copyright infringement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Other ongoing cases against SpaceX listed in the IPO include patent infringement claims, claims of noncompliance with EU content moderation, music copyright infringement claims, and data breach claims.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
Esso suspected copyright infringement and prepared several lawsuits, but in fact, an unknown resident had built “The Agloe General Store” at the intersection that appeared on the Esso map.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
“There are some severe civil liberties infringements going on,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Campaign groups have warned that the company's products pose risks related to mass surveillance, infringements on individual freedoms and data protection.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
The “defendants engaged in one of the most massive infringements of copyrighted materials in history,” the publishers said in the suit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Those infringements had England down to 14 for a total of 30 minutes.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
He was continually marching Antonapoulos down to the courthouse during lunch hour to settle these infringements of the law.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
