encroach

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en·croach / enˈkrōch/ • v. [intr.] (encroach on/upon) intrude on (a person's territory or a thing considered to be a right): rather than encroach on his privacy, she might have kept to her room. ∎  advance gradually and in a way that causes damage: the sea has encroached all around the coast.DERIVATIVES: en·croach·er n.

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