infringe
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(tr) to violate or break (a law, an agreement, etc)
-
(intr; foll by on or upon) to encroach or trespass
Synonym Usage
See trespass.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
infringesimple
-
infringessimple
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have infringedperfect
-
has infringedperfect
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am infringingprogressive
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are infringingprogressive
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is infringingprogressive
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have been infringingperfect progressive
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has been infringingperfect progressive
Past
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infringedsimple
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had infringedperfect
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was infringingprogressive
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were infringingprogressive
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had been infringingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of infringe
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin infringere “to break, weaken,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + -fringere, combining form of frangere “to break”; akin to break
Explanation
When you infringe on someone's space, time, or rights, you're getting involved in a way that is not cool. That's why, when you violate a copyright, you're said to infringe upon it. Infringe is almost always used with the prepositions "on" or "upon," as in, "if you infringe on my rights, I'll sue you." Nobody knows why that's the case. Our language is full of rules and traditions that just are the way they are. We call these phrases "idiomatic." To infringe "on" or "upon" something is one of those. You don't infringe "into" someone's conversation. You infringe "upon" it. Case closed.
Vocabulary lists containing infringe
The Bill of Rights
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List 6
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The EU on Monday ruled that a French draft law to ban social media for under-15s would infringe the bloc's rules if approved in its current form.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Economic order came through the Constitution, which established checks and balances between the branches, divided responsibility between the state and federal governments, and enumerated individual rights that government couldn’t infringe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Critics say the new reading requirements, which include Dickens and Shakespeare, infringe on religious freedoms and lack diversity.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
This defense has borne fruit in other Strike 3 cases, in which defendants successfully argued simply having an IP address that was used to infringe wasn’t enough to prove they committed the infringements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Back when he was thinking about getting married, he worried that taking walks with his wife would infringe on his work time.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
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"This will prevent serious and irreparable harm to competition in this growing market by Meta's conduct, which at first sight infringes EU competition rules," the commission said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
“We stand against any move that violates the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and infringes upon other countries’ sovereignty and security,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
However, in Skrmetti, the court denied a petition by minors and their parents that argued the ban also infringes on parental rights protected under the due process clause.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2025
Authors, musicians and artists have filed numerous lawsuits asserting that this process infringes their copyrights, since in most cases they haven’t granted permission or been compensated for it for the use.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2025
The formula of justice may be expressed thus: "Every man is free to do that which he wills, provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man."
From A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution by Williams, C. M.
Sony Music Entertainment on Monday filed a new lawsuit against artificial intelligence startup Udio, alleging it infringed on more than 30,000 recordings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
China's commerce ministry said on Friday that the moves "seriously infringed upon Jingye's legitimate rights and interests and severely undermined the confidence of Chinese companies investing in the UK".
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The lawsuit claimed the invention infringed on Edison’s own work—a familiar maneuver in an era when patent law functioned as both shield and weapon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
The ruling by judge Eumi Kim Lee signals that Cameo is likely to prove that OpenAI infringed on its trademark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
Lawrence was predictably incensed by the implication that his patent claims might have infringed Caltech’s claim to primacy.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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“Secure ballot envelope identifiers provide a reliable, auditable mechanism to enforce Federal law without unduly burdening or infringing on the rights of eligible voters,” the order reads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026
The drugmakers accused Moderna of infringing on several patents covering lipid nanoparticle technology, which is a critical component of Moderna’s mRNA vaccines.
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
MPA’s CEO, Charles Rivkin, wrote in a statement that the company “should immediately cease its infringing activity.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
Many of the clips are based on real actors, TV shows and films, and major US studios have now demanded that it must "immediately cease" infringing copyright.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
I relied on Wolfie to procure reading material for me and I fear that I took over his life, infringing on both his work and pleasure.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.