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The history behind encroach is likely to hook you in. The word derives from the Middle English encrochen, which means "to get or seize." The Anglo-French predecessor of encrochen is encrocher, which was formed by combining the prefix en- ("in") with the noun croche ("hook"). Croche also gave us our word crochet, in reference to the hooked needle used in that craft. Encroach carries the meaning of "intrude," both in terms of privilege or property. The word can also hop over legal barriers to describe a general advancement beyond desirable or normal limits (such as a hurricane that encroaches on the mainland).
Examples of encroach in a Sentence
Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is dispatching growing numbers of air force jets, naval ships, and troops in mock takeover drills, while gradually encroaching deeper into the waters and skies surrounding Taiwan.
—Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Oct. 2024
From the Facebook group, the co-founders learned how much the community was yearning for tennis to return as pickleball encroached upon the court space.
—Essence, 17 Oct. 2024
Shares of Nvidia increased by more than 2% Monday, ending at a record close and encroaching on Apple’s standing as the world’s most valuable company.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for encroach 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'encroach.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Encroach.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encroach. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.
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Legal Definition
encroach
intransitive verb
Anglo-French encrocher, probably alteration of acrocher to catch hold of, seize, usurp, from Old French, from a-, prefix stressing goal + croc hook
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