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
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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:
Thirty-six dancers with raised arms glide slowly forward as they encircle their prey, a lone figure on a red table in a climactic scene from Ravel's "Bolero" choreographed by Maurice Bejart.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 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
As the earth began to shake around 10 a.m., the elder elephants in the enclosure rushed to encircle the youngsters, the video shows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025
Grandma lingered for a moment and then rushed to encircle me in her arms once more.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Only the state of Brandenburg, which encircles Berlin and sees spillover from the capital city, bucks the trend.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
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
Paris still has empty acreage like the “petite ceinture,” or small belt, an abandoned 19th century railroad track that encircles Paris, and it’s being transformed into agricultural gardens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 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
A few investors bought up tracts of cheap land in Clarkston because of the town’s location, just outside a beltway that encircles the city and offers easy access to the airport and downtown.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
During the fight with Moscow-backed rebels, Drapaty is also credited with re-capturing several settlements from Russian control and then saving his unit from being encircled.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 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
The island identified beneath Karnak is the only known example of such high ground encircled by water in the region.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 4, 2026
He’s ushered into a courtyard encircled with razor wire, where eight or nine other Germans sit in their high boots holding battered canteens, one dressed in women’s clothes in which he apparently tried to desert.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
The small patch of dirt encircling Carmen Silverio Guardado’s home bears fruit — lots of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
She pointed out one pup with a piece of trash encircling its neck.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
Behind the concertina wire encircling the bases, Germans could experience American bowling alleys and drive-in theaters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
The new English coast path links with the Wales Coast Path - an 870-mile route encircling the Welsh coastline.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
Westward the view was blocked by the base of the great turret that stood at the back of this upper court and reared its horn high above the crest of the encircling hills.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
