1
as in to circle
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
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2
as in to surround
to form a circle around
immediately after announcing their engagement, the couple was encircled by their applauding friends
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of encircle
The latter was accompanied by the most striking choreography of the night, as a mass of humans encircled and swallowed Reznor at the end of the song, inviting him to join them in their amorphous horde.
—
Jeff Miller, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2026
Once the plant is out of its old container, use your fingers to gently pull apart encircling roots and remove as much of the old potting mix as possible.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Apr. 2026
How to Get Around Koh Chang is almost entirely encircled by one main road, and the island doesn't have any private tuk-tuks or taxis.
—Asia London Palomba, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2026
Jack Grealish was prone on one of the tables, encircled not by medical staff but members of the club’s Down’s Syndrome team.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Jeff Miller, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2026
Once the plant is out of its old container, use your fingers to gently pull apart encircling roots and remove as much of the old potting mix as possible.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Apr. 2026
How to Get Around Koh Chang is almost entirely encircled by one main road, and the island doesn't have any private tuk-tuks or taxis.
—Asia London Palomba, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2026
Jack Grealish was prone on one of the tables, encircled not by medical staff but members of the club’s Down’s Syndrome team.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircle
Verb
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Helicopters were circling over 30 Rockefeller Plaza, home of NBC News, ahead of Charles' arrival.—
Emma Caughlan,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
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All of it lands at a moment when Quinta do Lago inventory is tight, and buyers are still circling.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Roads in the surrounding area were temporarily closed as crews worked to douse the flames.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
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The new proposal would require them only if there were a request for one from the surrounding neighbors.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Based on its category classification, the robot knows its physical limits, which prevents it from crashing and dynamically redirects the movement to safely slide or traverse along the edge of the singularity boundary.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
26 Apr. 2026
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Several of Scotland’s Great Trails—including the West Highland Way and Great Trossachs Path—pass through the park, traversing some of the country’s highest mountains and most awe-inspiring terrain.—
Andrea Bussell,
Travel + Leisure,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In the infrared, this could do everything from revealing the large-scale structure of the early Universe to cataloging far more of the asteroids orbiting in Earth’s vicinity.—
JOHN TIMMER,
ArsTechnica,
23 Apr. 2026
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Traditional geostationary satellites orbit 20,000 miles up.—
Ben Tarnoff,
Big Think,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encircle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircle. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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