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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.
Examples of infraction in a Sentence
Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 5 Dec. 2025
Also, unlike the Lyons plaintiff, whom the Court had refused to assume would again commit a traffic infraction prompting a police stop in which a chokehold was likely to be used, plaintiffs here are far more likely to have future encounters with the immigration officers.
—New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
Drivers who don't stay far enough away from plows are guilty of a civil infraction with a fine $100.
—Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 28 Nov. 2025
Kaufmann argued that a more credible deterrence policy would see the United States match threats across a spectrum of infractions, from local conventional attacks to thermonuclear assault.
—Big Think, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infraction
Cite this Entry
“Infraction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infraction. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
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infraction
noun
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