impinge

im·pinge | \ im-ˈpinj

How to pronounce impinge (audio)

\

impinged; impinging

Definition of impinge

intransitive verb

1 : to strike or dash especially with a sharp collision I heard the rain impinge upon the earth— James Joyce

2 : to have an effect : make an impression waiting for the germ of a new idea to impinge upon my mind— Phyllis Bentley

3 : encroach, infringe impinge on other people's rights

Other Words from impinge Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about impinge

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Examples of impinge in a Sentence

hail was noisily impinging upon the car's exterior

Recent Examples on the Web Trump’s gross and comprehensive incompetence now increasingly impinges upon the core presidential responsibility. — George Will, Twin Cities, "George Will: The spiraling president adds self-impeachment to his repertoire," 13 Oct. 2019 But that film not only went much deeper into how a major armed conflict can impinge on a regular family’s day-to-day and private life, but also handled its metaphors, visual and otherwise, more elegantly. — Boyd Van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter, "'All This Victory' ('Jeedar El Sot'): Film Review | Venice 2019," 15 Sep. 2019 Most immediately, that could impinge on Liverpool in Wednesday’s European Super Cup when Klopp’s side, as Champions League winners, take on the Europa League winners Chelsea in Istanbul. — Jonathan Wilson, SI.com, "Despite an Emphatic Win vs. Norwich City, Alisson Injury Now Hangs Over Liverpool," 9 Aug. 2019 That would impinge on Abir Moussi, a lawyer who thinks the revolt was a foreign conspiracy and wants to exclude Islamists from politics. — The Economist, "Tunisia’s fragile democracy faces a stiff test," 4 July 2019 Earth could naturally support 0.9 billion hectares of additional forest—an area the size of the United States—without impinging on existing urban or agricultural lands, the researchers report today in Science. — Alex Fox, Science | AAAS, "Adding 1 billion hectares of forest could help check global warming," 4 July 2019 In the past few years, those threats and challenges have escalated, as China’s global ambitions, especially in the field of technology, have begun to impinge upon America’s preëminence. — Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, "Liu Cixin’s War of the Worlds," 17 June 2019 The issues that threaten to impinge upon that identity -- whether by curtailing the precious rights and freedoms the city enjoys or chipping away at its cultural heritage -- provoke the most visceral reactions from Hongkongers. — Antony Dapiran, CNN, "City of dissent: Hong Kong has a proud tradition of protesting to protect its unique identity," 14 June 2019 The next step was for people to use it in the real world, but the messiness of nature had a way of impinging on the purity of Takens’ math. — Quanta Magazine, "A Twisted Path to Equation-Free Prediction," 13 Oct. 2015

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impinge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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