Encroaching definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ENCROACHING, ppr. Entering on and taking possession of what belongs to another.
ENCROACHING, a. Tending or apt to encroach.
The encroaching spirit of power.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: gradually intrusive without right or permission; "we moved back from the encroaching tide"; "invasive tourists"; "trespassing hunters" [syn: encroaching, invasive, trespassing]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Encroach En*croach", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Encroached; p. pr. & vb. n. Encroaching.] [OF. encrochier to perch, prop., to hook, fasten a hook (perh. confused with acrochier, F. accrocher, to hook, get hold of, E. accroach); pref. en- (L. in) + F. croc hook. See Crook, and cf. Accroach.] To enter by gradual steps or by stealth into the possessions or rights of another; to trespass; to intrude; to trench; -- commonly with on or upon; as, to encroach on a neighbor; to encroach on the highway. No sense, faculty, or member must encroach upon or interfere with the duty and office of another. --South. Superstition, . . . a creeping and encroaching evil. --Hooker. Exclude the encroaching cattle from thy ground. --Dryden. Syn: To intrude; trench; infringe; invade; trespass.