An infraction is usually the breaking of a law, rule, or agreement. So a nation charged with an infraction of an international treaty will usually have to pay a penalty. In Federal law, an infraction is even smaller than a misdemeanor, and the only penalty is a fine. Most of us occasionally commit infractions of parking laws and get ticketed; speeding tickets are usually for infractions as well, though they go on a permanent record and can end up costing you money for years to come. The closely related word infringement generally refers to a violation of a right or privilege; use of another's writings without permission, for example, may be an infringement of the copyright.
speeding is only a minor infraction, but vehicular homicide is a serious felony
Recent Examples on the WebNoncompliance penalties are about $600/day per infraction and up to two years in jail.—Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024 That’s why mandatory, comprehensive background checks for applicants and a national database of officers’ infractions are needed, Crump said.—Holly Yan, CNN, 14 Aug. 2024 The number of traffic infractions issued in Seattle over the same time fell by more than 80 percent.
Roads or racetracks?—Emily Badger, New York Times, 29 July 2024 To address this, cities like Fayetteville, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Oakland and San Francisco have adopted policies to reduce stops for minor infractions.—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 7 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for infraction
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'infraction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Medieval Latin infraction-, infractio, from Latin, subduing, from infringere to break — more at infringe
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