encroach C2 Topic:Actions & Processes US /ɪnˈkroʊtʃ/ UK /ɪŋˈkɹəʊtʃ/ See IPA manual Freq #65452 Meanings 1 verb advance beyond the usual limit The sea began to encroach upon the fields. 2 verb impinge or infringe upon The sea began to encroach upon the fields. 3 verb to seize, appropriate The sea began to encroach upon the fields. 4 verb To intrude unrightfully on someone else’s rights or territory. [D]rowſie drouping Age, / incroaching on apace, / With penſiue Plough will raze your hue / and Beauties beames deface. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · advance beyond the usual limit impingeinfringe 2 verb · impinge or infringe upon trench Word family Forms encroaching Derived forms encroachableencroacherencroachmentunencroachableunencroached Common collocations encroach upon Verb + preposition/particle Etymology From Middle English encrochen, from Old French encrochier (“to seize”), from Old French en- + croc (“hook”), of Germanic origin. More at crook. Topics Actions & Processes External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # encroach **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ɪnˈkroʊtʃ/ **IPA (UK):** /ɪŋˈkɹəʊtʃ/ **Frequency rank:** 65452 ## Meanings 1. advance beyond the usual limit 2. impinge or infringe upon 3. to seize, appropriate 4. To intrude unrightfully on someone else’s rights or territory. ## Examples - The sea began to encroach upon the fields. - The sea began to encroach upon the fields. - The sea began to encroach upon the fields. - [D]rowſie drouping Age, / incroaching on apace, / With penſiue Plough will raze your hue / and Beauties beames deface. ## Synonyms - impinge - infringe - trench ## Derived Forms - encroachable - encroacher - encroachment - unencroachable - unencroached ## Etymology From Middle English encrochen, from Old French encrochier (“to seize”), from Old French en- + croc (“hook”), of Germanic origin. More at crook. ## Topics - Actions & Processes markdown