Impinge

//ɪmˈpɪnd͡ʒ// verb

verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make a physical impact on. intransitive, rare, transitive

    "Loud noise can impinge on the eardrum, causing temporary hearing damage."

  2. 2
    advance beyond the usual limit wordnet
  3. 3
    To interfere with. figuratively, intransitive, rare, transitive

    "For example, if the trophic fibre is impinged there would be too much or too little gastric juice; if the motor fibre is impinged the muscular contractions of the stomach would be lessened; if the sensory fibre is impinged there[…]"

  4. 4
    impinge or infringe upon wordnet
  5. 5
    To have an effect upon, especially a negative one. figuratively, intransitive

    "Near-synonym: infringe"

Synonyms

All synonyms
infringeencroachencroachaffectbangbang into

Example

More examples

"I can't let these distractions impinge on my work."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin impingō (“dash against, impinge”). Compare impact, derived from the perfect passive participle of impingō.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.