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intr.v. en·croached, en·croach·ing, en·croach·es 1. To take another's possessions or rights gradually or stealthily: encroach on a neighbor's land. 2. To advance beyond proper or former limits: desert encroaching upon grassland. 3. Football To commit encroachment. [Middle English encrochen, to seize illegally, from Old French encrochier, to seize : en-, in; see EN-1 + croc, hook (of Germanic origin).] en·croacher n. |
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