Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: encrochier 'to seize', from croche 'hook'

encroach

 verb
     
en‧croach [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]
1 to gradually take more of someone's time, possessions, rights etc than you should
encroach on/upon
Bureaucratic power has encroached upon the freedom of the individual.
2 to gradually cover more and more land
encroach into
The fighting encroached further east.
—encroachment noun [uncountable and countable]
foreign encroachment
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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