To intrude means to enter a place or situation where you're not wanted or invited. When you intrude, you push your way into something without permission, disrupting what was happening before you arrived.

Think of a time when you were having a private conversation with a friend and someone else walked up and started listening or asking nosy questions. That person intruded on your conversation. Or imagine you're in your room working on a project when your sibling barges in without knocking. They've intruded on your space and privacy.

The word carries a sense of unwelcome interruption. A loud noise can intrude on your concentration while you're reading. A stranger's questions about your family might feel like an intrusion into your personal life. Reporters who follow celebrities everywhere are sometimes called intrusive because they don't respect privacy.

Intrude is different from simply entering or joining. When you knock on a door and wait to be invited in, you're not intruding. When you ask if you can join a game and the players say yes, that's not intruding either. Intruding happens when you insert yourself where you haven't been welcomed, crossing boundaries that should have stopped you.