impingement

American  

[im-pinj-muhnt] / ɪmˈpɪndʒ mənt /

noun

1. the act or fact of encroaching or infringing.

   This is an impingement on the fundamental right of free speech.

2. the act or fact of striking or touching something, or the effect produced by this.

   The impingement on the diamond’s hard crystal surface is due to oxygen in the air.

3. Medicine/Medical. the act or fact of interfering with something, especially a nerve, through contact or pressure.

   Impingement on the nerves can be relieved by removing the portion of the bone compressing the neural structures.

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Etymology

Origin of impingement

impinge ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Example Sentences

“It’s for people with shoulder impingement or spinal compression issues. It takes all the compression off your spine and allows you to perform a squat under resistance.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 27, 2025

How could a newcomer who practically vanished when he went down with a shoulder impingement five months earlier become the team’s most dominant reliever?

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2025

Marlins: RHP Edward Cabrera was placed on the 15-day injured list for the second time this season due to right shoulder impingement.

From Seattle Times • May 8, 2024

Cobb said he’s accepted that the hip impingement injury he sustained in June is likely to linger the remainder of the season.

From Washington Times • Sep. 12, 2023

Eight forms of electric lamps using infusible earthy oxides and brought to high incandescence in vacuo by high potential current of several thousand volts; same character as impingement of X-rays on object in bulb.

From Edison, His Life and Inventions by Dyer, Frank Lewis