verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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encirclesimple
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encirclessimple
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have encircledperfect
-
has encircledperfect
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am encirclingprogressive
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are encirclingprogressive
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is encirclingprogressive
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have been encirclingperfect progressive
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has been encirclingperfect progressive
Past
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encircledsimple
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had encircledperfect
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was encirclingprogressive
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were encirclingprogressive
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had been encirclingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of encircle
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at en- 1, circle
Explanation
To encircle is to surround, or to make a circle around. On the last night of summer camp, the counselors and campers traditionally encircle the campfire and sing songs. Prisons are encircled by barbed wire fences, and hot, damp pavement encircles most public swimming pools. When you hug your little sister, you encircle her with your arms. If your tomato plants are growing too tall and flopping over, you should encircle them with twine to hold them up. Encircle adds the prefix en-, "make or put in" to circle, from its Latin root circus, or "ring."
Vocabulary lists containing encircle
Florida's B.E.S.T Roots: circ, circum
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As for the county of Los Angeles, about half of its 4,700-plus square miles are made up of the forests and oceans and deserts that encircle it.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
China launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels this week to encircle Taiwan's main island.
From Barron's ● Jan. 1, 2026
It already displays two prominent, sweeping arms that encircle a bright central bulge, stretching across about 30,000 light-years.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2025
They constructed a 35-mile earthen berm around the city in an attempt to encircle its one million residents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
The backyard trees shade and encircle it, keep it tucked away.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Since 2019, it has expanded its attacks from northern Burkina Faso and now encircles Ouagadougou, threatening links with neighbouring Ivory Coast, Togo and Mali.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2025
This framing device encircles just one remarkable chapter of the wild and colorful life of Miller, who lived so much both before and after the war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2024
The researchers also showed that by changing the type of polymer that encircles a nanotube, they could engineer new types of semiconducting nanotubes.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024
It uses additional lookout vehicles, encircles monopiles for turbines with bubble curtains and does underwater acoustic monitoring.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 23, 2023
The world is a flat disk, and the sea encircles the perimeter.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
Jupiter currently has more than 100 reported moons, while Saturn, which is also encircled by an extensive ring system, has more than 280.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
Later that year, he was commended for withdrawing encircled Ukrainian units from a border area of the Luhansk region.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Several hundred city residents, social justice activists, and dozens of Newark police officers encircled the DHS site where Baraka was being held.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
In a dash of added celebrity for the pro-Claude camp, pop star Katy Perry posted a screenshot of her new subscription to the Claude Pro plan, encircled with a drawing of a heart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
She encircled his neck with rosy arms and hugged tightly.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Colombia’s Pacific region around the quake’s epicenter lies in the “Ring of Fire,” the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
She pointed out one pup with a piece of trash encircling its neck.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
The “spiritual alchemist” who turns her San Antonio home into what looks like the HQ of a drug cartel by encircling the place with an 8-foot concrete wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
Chinese authorities have published a map showing several large zones encircling Taiwan where the operations are taking place.
From Barron's ● Dec. 30, 2025
I still have my arm encircling his hunched back.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
