trespass

English

Pronunciation

  • (US) enPR: trĕs'pǎs, IPA(key): /ˈtɹɛspæs/, /ˈtɹæspæs/
  • (UK) enPR: trĕs'pəs, IPA(key): /ˈtɹɛspəs/, /ˈtɹɛspɪs/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Hyphenation: tres‧pass

Etymology 1

Borrowed into Middle English trespas, from Old French trespas (“passage; offense against the law”), from trespasser.

Noun

trespass (countable and uncountable, plural trespasses)

  1. (law) An intentional interference with another's property or person.
    • 2019 December 18, Andrew Roden, “New measurements reveal improvement in punctuality”, in Rail, page 24:
      External infrastructure issues such as severe weather and trespass caused 17.1% of [train] cancellations, [...].
    • 2020 June 17, “Stop & Examine”, in Rail, page 71:
      Network Rail has produced a free downloadable comic highlighting the consequences of railway trespass. Between March 23 and April 26, there were 1,024 trespass incidents on the railway. [...] it is based on the company's award-winning safety film 18, which shows the dangers of trespass, especially around electrified lines.
    • 2025 May 9, Max Matza, “New Jersey mayor arrested in protest at migrant centre”, in BBC‎[2]:
      Newark Mayor Ras Baraka "committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings" to leave Delaney Hall, a facility being run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to acting US attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba.
  2. (archaic) sin
Derived terms
Translations
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Translations to be checked

Etymology 2

From Middle English trespassen, borrowed from Old French trespasser (“to go across or over, transgress”), from tres- (“across, over”) + passer (“to pass”).

Verb

trespass (third-person singular simple present trespasses, present participle trespassing, simple past and past participle trespassed)

  1. (intransitive, now rare) To commit an offence; to sin.
    Synonym: transgress
  2. (transitive, obsolete) To offend against, to wrong (someone).
  3. (intransitive) To go too far; to put someone to inconvenience by demand or importunity; to intrude.
    Synonym: cross the line
    to trespass upon the time or patience of another
    • 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:
      "Indeed I have, sir," was her answer. "She is a great deal too ill to be moved. Mr. Jones says we must not think of moving her. We must trespass a little longer on your kindness."
  4. (law) To enter someone else's property illegally.
  5. (obsolete) To pass beyond a limit or boundary; hence, to depart; to go.
    Synonyms: exceed, surpass, transcend
  6. (transitive, law, especially New Zealand)[1] To subject [someone] to a trespass notice, formally notifying them that they are prohibited from entry to a property, such that any current or future presence there will constitute trespass, (especially) criminal trespass
    The dean trespassed the streaker from his university.
    • 1946 January 26, Neil M. Clark, “Hoof Highway”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 218, number 30, page 52:
      A year ago a sheep-man was allowing his flocks to trespass on another public-domain licensee. At his third offense, after warnings, he was "trespassed" and given a fairly stiff fine and a warning that a fourth offense would cost him his grazing rights.
    • 1996 April 16, Glenn Campbell, “Another Business Office Found”, in The Groom Lake Desert Rat‎[3], number 35, Rachel, NV, archived from the original on 23 February 1998:
      "I only grabbed your arm because I wanted to trespass you," the man said.
      "What the hell does that mean?" I replied.
      The man walked into the building and came out with a laminated plastic card, like the one police use when they are reading suspects their rights. He read a warning: "You are hereby notified that you are trespassing on private property. If you do not leave this property, you will be guilty of trespass under Nevada Revised Statutes... etc., etc."
      Having been so "trespassed," I then decided it was prudent to leave.
    • 2012 June 21, Greg O'Connor, “Criminal trespasses police officers”, in Stuff‎[4]:
      The entire police force has in effect been trespassed from a Wellington property to stop officers checking whether a heavy-sleeping offender is complying with an overnight bail curfew.
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
References
  1. ^ Neal Whitman (25 April 2013) “Trespassers Will Be Trespassed”, in Visual Thesaurus‎[1]: “noticeably more common in New Zealand”

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