encroach

UK/ɪŋˈkɹəʊtʃ/

verbC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,398 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: encroaching, encroached, encroaches

To encroach is to move gradually into space that is not yours. Encroach on the land, encroaching development, encroach upon his time.

The gradualness is the point, since encroaching happens by inches and is noticed too late. In property law an encroachment can eventually become a right, which is why boundaries are worth defending.

Definitions of encroach

1verbencroachTo move gradually into space that is not yours.C1
“The city keeps encroaching on the farmland around it as new houses go up.”

encroach is an intruding.

Where it comes from

Old French encrochier means to seize with a hook, from croc, a hook.

Old French
encrochier — to seize
Middle English
encrochen
English, today
encroach

Built from

croc · Old French — hook

From Middle English encrochen, from Old French encrochier (“to seize”), from Old French en- + croc (“hook”), of gem - origin. More at crook.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

encroach in the wild

Settlers resented British efforts to control their movements, and continued to encroach on Native American territories.
Unadilla River
At the end of the rainy season, generally in March as the Upper Zambezi flood waters encroach on the compound, the Litunga moves to Limulunga on higher ground.
Lealui
As urban sprawl continues to increase in Southern Ontario, new housing developments in Milton have begun to encroach upon Rattlesnake Point.
Rattlesnake Point (Canada)
Kennall, the civilian, and with him lieth buried, for the English speech doth encroach upon it and have driven the same to the utmost skirts of the shire.
John Kennall
Pothan Joseph guarded editorial freedom and demanded that editors support those who worked in the editorial wing and never encroach on their freedom.
Pothan Joseph

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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