infringement
Americannoun
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infringements
plural
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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:
In 2024, Universal, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner sued Suno and Udio for copyright infringement, alleging the AI companies trained their models on copyrighted songs spanning many artists, genres and time periods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
They did it anyway, according to a legal filing unsealed Thursday in a high-stakes copyright infringement case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Roberts wrote for the group and accused the majority of allowing a likely infringement of Congress’ constitutional authority to continue because it had drawn the rules governing who may sue in federal court too narrowly.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
Shein has said "it takes all claims of infringement seriously" and that it respects the rights of all designers.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 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
Companies that fail to comply with the DMA can be fined up to 10% of annual global revenue, or even up to 20% in case of repeated infringements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
“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
Quins had been warned over repeated infringements by referee Luc Ramos and when Will Evans was sin-binned, Sale took full advantage as Cowan-Dickie rumbled over at the back of a line-out maul.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 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.
