encroachment
Encroachment (noun) means the act of gradually intruding on someone else's land, rights or area of authority, or the intrusion itself. Example: “Residents objected to the encroachment of housing on the green belt.”
How to Use Encroachment
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSlowly taking over land or rights that belong to someone else.
Formal; common in law, property, planning and politics.
The usual preposition is "on", though "upon" is common in legal writing.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
Residents objected to the _____ of housing on the green belt.
Etymology
From encroach, from Old French encrochier "to seize, hook on to", from en- and croc "hook", with the noun suffix -ment.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for encroachment
See all rhymes for encroachment →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between encroachment and trespass?
Trespass is entering someone's land without permission, usually as a one-off act by a person. Encroachment is a lasting physical or legal intrusion, such as a fence, extension or overhanging structure that sits across the boundary and stays there.
What is the difference between encroachment and an easement?
An easement is a right to use part of someone else's land that has been properly granted and recorded. An encroachment is an intrusion nobody agreed to, which may have to be removed or later regularised.
Does encroachment always involve land?
No. The word is used just as often for gradual intrusions on rights, freedoms or someone's authority, as in "encroachment on civil liberties".