infringe

verb

in·fringe | \ in-ˈfrinj

infringed; infringing

Definition of infringe

transitive verb

1 : to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another infringe a patent

2 obsolete : defeat, frustrate

intransitive verb

: encroach —used with on or upon infringe on our rights

Other Words from infringe Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about infringe

Keep scrolling for more

Choose the Right Synonym for infringe

trespass, encroach, infringe, invade mean to make inroads upon the property, territory, or rights of another. trespass implies an unwarranted or unlawful intrusion. hunters trespassing on farmland encroach suggests gradual or stealthy entrance upon another's territory or usurpation of another's rights or possessions. the encroaching settlers displacing the native peoples infringe implies an encroachment clearly violating a right or prerogative. infringing a copyright invade implies a hostile and injurious entry into the territory or sphere of another. accused of invading their privacy

Examples of infringe in a Sentence

They claim that his use of the name infringes their copyright. Her rights must not be infringed.

Recent Examples on the Web

Turkey, however, insists the exploration infringes on its rights and the rights of breakaway Turkish Cypriots to east Mediterranean hydrocarbon reserves. — Menelaos Hadjicostis, The Seattle Times, "Israel: ‘Much safer’ Mediterranean with Cyprus teamwork," 12 Feb. 2019 Finally, in a twist on the copycatting narrative, the huge conglomerate L’Oréal slapped buzzy indie skin care brand Drunk Elephant with a lawsuit alleging the latter had infringed on one of its formula patents for a vitamin C product. — Cheryl Wischhover, Vox, "The biggest beauty trend in 2018? Makeup brands behaving badly," 18 Dec. 2018 Apple claims that the current version, iOS 12, doesn't infringe Qualcomm's patents—though Qualcomm denies this. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Apple says iOS update will avoid Qualcomm patents, China iPhone ban," 14 Dec. 2018 Just yesterday the chipmaker requested a further injunction to ban sales of the iPhone XS and XR, which are Apple’s latest iPhone models sold with iOS 12 pre-installed, the version of the software that Apple claims doesn’t infringe upon the patents. — Jon Porter, The Verge, "Apple plans iPhone software update to reverse Chinese ban," 14 Dec. 2018 In that decision, a jury said that Arista didn’t infringe on a Cisco patent and copyright related to the command-line technology. — Micah Maidenberg, WSJ, "Arista to Pay Cisco $400 Million as Companies Settle IP Disputes," 6 Aug. 2018 So, clearly, rising gas prices aren’t infringing on road trips this year. — Morgan Greene, chicagotribune.com, "Worst time to drive in Chicago this Memorial Day weekend? During Friday night's rush hour," 17 May 2018 The Supreme Court ruled that identifying who was in the NAACP would infringe on the right to privacy and free association. — Diana Budds, Curbed, "Facial recognition is becoming one of the 21st century’s biggest public space issues," 19 Oct. 2018 Often, creators will issue a takedown notice against an infringing copy of their work only to find another copy has been uploaded a few hours or days later. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "An EU copyright bill could force YouTube-style filtering across the Web," 11 Sep. 2018

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about infringe

Dictionary Entries near infringe

in/from the depths of someone's heart/soul/being

in front

Statistics for infringe

Last Updated

18 Mar 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for infringe

The first known use of infringe was in 1513

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for infringe

infringe

verb

English Language Learners Definition of infringe

: to do something that does not obey or follow (a rule, law, etc.)

: to wrongly limit or restrict (something, such as another person's rights)

See the full definition for infringe in the English Language Learners Dictionary

infringe

verb

in·fringe | \ in-ˈfrinj

infringed; infringing

Kids Definition of infringe

1 : to fail to obey or act in agreement with : violate infringe a law

2 : to go further than is right or fair to another : encroach

infringe

verb

in·fringe | \ in-ˈfrinj

infringed; infringing

Legal Definition of infringe

transitive verb

: to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed — U.S. Constitution amend. II especially : to violate a holder's rights under (a copyright, patent, trademark, or trade name)

intransitive verb

: encroach