infringe
Americanverb (used with object)
-
infringes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
infringed,
past participle, past
-
infringing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
infringes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
infringed,
past participle, past
-
infringing
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to violate or break (a law, an agreement, etc)
-
(intr; foll by on or upon) to encroach or trespass
Synonym Usage
See trespass.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
infringesimple
-
infringessimple
-
have infringedperfect
-
has infringedperfect
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am infringingprogressive
-
are infringingprogressive
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is infringingprogressive
-
have been infringingperfect progressive
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has been infringingperfect progressive
Past
-
infringedsimple
-
had infringedperfect
-
was infringingprogressive
-
were infringingprogressive
-
had been infringingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of infringe
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin infringere “to break, weaken,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + -fringere, combining form of frangere “to break”; akin to break
Explanation
When you infringe on someone's space, time, or rights, you're getting involved in a way that is not cool. That's why, when you violate a copyright, you're said to infringe upon it. Infringe is almost always used with the prepositions "on" or "upon," as in, "if you infringe on my rights, I'll sue you." Nobody knows why that's the case. Our language is full of rules and traditions that just are the way they are. We call these phrases "idiomatic." To infringe "on" or "upon" something is one of those. You don't infringe "into" someone's conversation. You infringe "upon" it. Case closed.
Vocabulary lists containing infringe
The Bill of Rights
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List 6
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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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:
But when the law was passed, state minister Pankaj Bhoyar said it did not infringe upon the right to change religion.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
He added, “These deprivations, while grievous, do not infringe upon any deeply rooted constitutional right.”
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
From what you’re saying, this won’t infringe upon your values and would make you a more efficient worker.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
The EU on Monday ruled that a French draft law to ban social media for under-15s would infringe the bloc's rules if approved in its current form.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Back when he was thinking about getting married, he worried that taking walks with his wife would infringe on his work time.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
This infringes Tsuda's so-called publicity rights -- the ability to control and profit from the use of aspects of one's identity -- his attorneys said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Sony and Universal also filed a new lawsuit last week alleging that Suno’s latest model still infringes on their copyrighted works.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Civil-rights lawyers and former DHS staffers see it differently and say the system infringes free speech.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
However, in Skrmetti, the court denied a petition by minors and their parents that argued the ban also infringes on parental rights protected under the due process clause.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2025
The formula of absolute justice is that "every man is free to do that which he wills, provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man."
From Herbert Spencer by J. Arthur (John Arthur) Thomson
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said Monday that Google infringed the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation following a 2020 investigation into the company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Earlier this month, France's top court struck down a similar proposed social media ban, saying it infringed upon freedom of expression.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Some felt it infringed on their sense of nostalgia.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed, reiterating that “the allegedly infringed material — basic ideas, themes, metaphors, isolated words, and short phrases — is not protected expression and cannot be infringed.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Lawrence was predictably incensed by the implication that his patent claims might have infringed Caltech’s claim to primacy.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“The agency is prohibited by law from engaging in censorship or infringing on First Amendment rights of the press.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
SConnect said all infringing videos were removed, and that Wolfoo animations made after mid-2020 used only voices and sounds that were created in-house.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
The drugmakers accused Moderna of infringing on several patents covering lipid nanoparticle technology, which is a critical component of Moderna’s mRNA vaccines.
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
MPA’s CEO, Charles Rivkin, wrote in a statement that the company “should immediately cease its infringing activity.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
Most people in our community are decent, hardworking citizens who pursue their own interests legally and without infringing on the rights of others.
From "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
