[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/encroachment/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [E](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/e/) / encroachment

# encroachment

noun (an encroachment, encroachments; encroachment, uncountable)

«encroachment» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Slowly going into a place, time or right that belongs to someone else, a little at a time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/#m1)
2. (law) Building or using land beyond your boundary onto someone else's land. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/#m2)
3. (nature) The sea, a desert or towns slowly spreading over land. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/#m3)

### In the lessons

In geography, coastal erosion and desert encroachment take land; in science, towns encroach on animals' habitats; in law and citizenship, encroachment on rights; in American football, a foul called encroachment; phrases: «encroachment on», «the encroachment of the sea».

### Examples

- The encroachment of the sea is eating away the cliffs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/#x1)
- Towns' encroachment on forests leaves animals with less space. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/#x2)
- The neighbour's new fence was an encroachment on our garden. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/#x3)
- Desert encroachment makes farming harder. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/#x4)
- People protested against the encroachment on their rights. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/#x5)
- Rising water caused the encroachment of salt into farmland. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/#x6)

### Note

Verb: encroach («encroach on»). Pronounced en-KROHCH-ment. Formal word; simpler: creeping in, taking over.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «encroachment» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/encroachment/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«encroachment» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/encroachment.html) on Mova free.