Sign In Get Started
Prepositions after verbs

Encroach on or encroach upon?

Both encroach on and encroach upon are correct. Upon is slightly more formal and often used in legal or official language.

Quick answer

Which is better: encroach on or encroach upon?

Both forms are idiomatic. Encroach on is more common in everyday English. Encroach upon has the same meaning but sounds more formal or literary.

The new road may encroach on protected land.
The policy could encroach upon individual rights.
Housing developments are encroaching on farmland.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
encroach on + area or rights

Describing intrusion or interference

Use encroach on for physical or abstract intrusion.

The factory encroached on residential areas.
The rules encroach on personal freedom.
2
encroach upon + formal topic

Using a more formal style

Encroach upon is common in formal writing, especially legal or academic contexts.

The law must not encroach upon civil liberties.
The expansion encroached upon tribal land.
3
encroach on + someone's time

Talking about unwanted demands

Encroach on can describe taking too much time, space, or attention.

Meetings encroach on my lunch break.
Work has encroached on her personal life.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
encroach on
The building project encroaches on public land.
standard and natural in everyday English
encroach upon
The measures encroach upon privacy rights.
more formal version with the same meaning
encroach into
The city expanded into nearby forests.
into is used with physical movement or expansion, not usually with encroach
encroach over
The branches spread over the fence.
over is not the standard preposition after encroach

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using the wrong preposition

Encroach is normally followed by on or upon.

✕ The project encroaches into protected land. ✓ The project encroaches on protected land.

Confusing formal and informal tone

Upon sounds more formal than on.

✕ The casual email said the app encroaches upon your free time. ✓ The casual email said the app encroaches on your free time.

Using encroach without an object

Encroach usually needs a target area, right, or boundary.

✕ The company kept encroaching. ✓ The company kept encroaching on protected areas.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The new law may encroach ___ citizens' rights.
2. The report says the policy encroaches ___ privacy.
3. Urban growth is encroaching ___ farmland.

Check your sentence in context

Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.

Free to try · No signup required

Frequently asked questions

Are encroach on and encroach upon both correct?

Yes. Both are correct and have the same core meaning.

Which is more formal: on or upon?

Upon is more formal and common in legal, academic, and official writing.

Can encroach describe abstract things?

Yes. It can refer to rights, privacy, time, or personal space as well as physical land.

earmark-for-by-as-about, at "earn from", "earn by" or "earn in"? "ease into", "ease by" or "ease in"? "eat at", "eat with" or "eat in"? "echo in" or "echo by"? edit by, for, in, to or from? "educate in" or "educate at"? eject from, at, in, into or by? elaborate on, in, upon, by or about? "elect to" or "elect by"? elevate to, in, above, by or as? "eliminate from", "eliminate in" or "eliminate by"?

Write with confidence in Linguix

Create a free account to check complete texts, apply suggestions, and save your documents.

Create a free account