What does trespassed mean?
Trespassed is the simple past tense and past participle of trespass, a verb meaning to enter land or property without permission or, figuratively, to cross a boundary of rights, privacy, law, or propriety. The word is especially common in legal contexts involving unauthorized entry and notices reading “No Trespassing.” Figurative uses—such as describing conduct that intrudes on someone's privacy or violates an accepted moral rule—are common in journalism, law, and formal speech. Trespassed has a more serious, more formal tone than “walked into,” while often being less severe than “invaded” in ordinary nonlegal prose. Its usefulness lies in its precision: it identifies not merely movement across a space, but movement or conduct across a boundary without proper authorization. The related noun trespass names the act, and a trespasser is someone who trespasses.
verb (past tense and past participle)Trespassed is the past tense and past participle of trespass, meaning to enter land or property without authorization or, figuratively, to intrude upon someone's rights, privacy, or moral boundaries.
- To enter land, property, or premises without authorization.
- To intrude upon or violate someone's privacy, rights, or other protected interests.
- To exceed an accepted legal, moral, social, or behavioral boundary.
"The hiker trespassed on private property despite the warning signs."
"The hiker trespassed on private property despite the warning signs."
"Her article trespassed on the subject's privacy by revealing details that had been withheld."
To trespass is not merely to cross a space, but to cross a boundary without permission.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does trespassed come from?
Trespassed is the regular past-tense and past-participle form of trespass, a verb that entered Middle English from Old French trespasser, meaning “to pass across.” Its literal idea of passing across developed into the legal sense of entering property without authority. The related word transgress comes through French from Latin transgredī, “to step across,” and shares the broader idea of going beyond a limit.
Related word forms
How trespassed is actually used
Predominantly formal and legal, especially in references to unauthorized entry. Figurative uses are common in journalism, law, and discussion of privacy or propriety, where the word suggests a serious breach of a boundary.
Easily confused with trespassed
Trespass usually concerns unauthorized entry onto property, while transgress more often means to violate a law, rule, or moral boundary.