Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or an instance of encroaching.
  • noun Football A violation of the rules in which a player enters the neutral zone and makes contact with an opponent prior to the snap of the ball.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of encroaching or intruding or trespassing; an entering on the rights or possessions of another, and taking possession; unlawful intrusion in general; assumption of the rights and privileges of another.
  • noun The thing taken by encroaching.
  • noun Figuratively, the act of intruding gradually and as if by stealth; approach, seizure, or progress: as, the encroachments of disease.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of entering gradually or silently upon the rights or possessions of another; unlawful intrusion.
  • noun That which is taken by encroaching on another.
  • noun (Law) An unlawful diminution of the possessions of another.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An entry into a place or area that was previously uncommon; an advance beyond former borders; intrusion; incursion.
  • noun An intrusion upon another's possessions or rights; infringement.
  • noun That which is gained by such unlawful intrusion.
  • noun law An unlawful diminution of the possessions of another.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun entry to another's property without right or permission
  • noun influencing strongly
  • noun any entry into an area not previously occupied

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

encroach +‎ -ment

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Examples

  • And those forces undergird Russia's intent to halt NATO's eastward enlargement, particularly to Georgia and Ukraine; to retain its Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol beyond the 2017 expiration of its leasehold; to discourage NATO from planning and exercising the defense of the post Cold War NATO allies; to challenge American cooperation with those allies; and eventually to roll back what it characterizes as encroachment from the west.

    A Step At A Time 2009

  • And those forces undergird Russia's intent to halt NATO's eastward enlargement, particularly to Georgia and Ukraine; to retain its Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol beyond the 2017 expiration of its leasehold; to discourage NATO from planning and exercising the defense of the post Cold War NATO allies; to challenge American cooperation with those allies; and eventually to roll back what it characterizes as encroachment from the west.

    A Step At A Time 2009

  • And those forces undergird Russia's intent to halt NATO's eastward enlargement, particularly to Georgia and Ukraine; to retain its Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol beyond the 2017 expiration of its leasehold; to discourage NATO from planning and exercising the defense of the post Cold War NATO allies; to challenge American cooperation with those allies; and eventually to roll back what it characterizes as encroachment from the west.

    A Step At A Time 2009

  • And those forces undergird Russia's intent to halt NATO's eastward enlargement, particularly to Georgia and Ukraine; to retain its Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol beyond the 2017 expiration of its leasehold; to discourage NATO from planning and exercising the defense of the post Cold War NATO allies; to challenge American cooperation with those allies; and eventually to roll back what it characterizes as encroachment from the west.

    A Step At A Time 2009

  • And by the way, I think that encroachment is a more useful legal concept than “harm”.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Change I Can Believe In 2010

  • If the government uses the tax money to further infringe on your freedom, that additional encroachment is covered under a different metric.

    Discourse.net: Textbook Takedown 2009

  • Revenue was flat in the past year, as private-label encroachment cut U.S. and European sales 14%.

    Mead Johnson Still Has Room to Grow 2009

  • I believe that what some view as encroachment is either valid jurisdiction by the federal government or an assumption of responsibility which states, over the years, have failed to meet or to meet adequately.

    The Contemporary American State—Federal System 1965

  • As the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty was one of the principal causes of his mother's emigration, it is not wonderful that young Hunter grew up with a spirit jealous of encroachment from the English crown.

    Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographical, Illustrative of the Principles of a Portion of Her Early Settlers 1846

  • Balter suggested that GameStop can withstand near-term encroachment from physical retailers.

    unknown title 2009

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