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• border
  border

  noun

  the part or edge of a surface or area that forms its outer boundary.
• Border
  Border

  noun

  (often plural) the area straddling the border between England and Scotland

border

American  

[bawr-der] / ˈbɔr dər /

noun

• borders
  plural

1. the part or edge of a surface or area that forms its outer boundary.

   Synonyms:

   verge, periphery, rim

2. the line, limit, or delimiting geographic feature that separates one country, state, province, etc., from another: The largest lake within the borders of Canada is Great Bear Lake.

   You cannot cross the border without a visa.

   The largest lake within the borders of Canada is Great Bear Lake.

3. the district or region that lies along the boundary line of another.

4. the frontier of civilization.

5. the border,

   1. the border between the United States and Mexico, especially along the Rio Grande.

   2. (in the British Isles) the region along the boundary between England and Scotland.

6. brink; verge.

7. an ornamental strip or design around the edge of a printed page, a drawing, etc.

8. an ornamental design or piece of ornamental trimming around the edge of a fabric, rug, garment, article of furniture, etc.

9. Horticulture.

   1. a long, narrow bed planted with flowers, shrubs, or trees.

   2. a strip of ground in which plants are grown, enclosing an area in a garden or running along the edge of a walk or driveway.

   3. the plants growing in such a strip.

      a border of tulips along the path.

10. Theater.

    1. a narrow curtain or strip of painted canvas hung above the stage, masking the flies and lighting units, and forming the top of the stage set.

    2. border light.

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verb (used with object)

• borders,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bordered,
  past participle,  past
• bordering
  present participle

1. to make a border around; adorn with a border.

2. to form a border or boundary to.

3. to lie on the border of; adjoin.

verb (used without object)

• borders,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bordered,
  past participle,  past
• bordering
  present participle

1. to form or constitute a border; be next to.

   California borders on the Pacific Ocean.

2. to approach closely in character; verge.

   The situation borders on tragedy.

border ¹ British  

/ ˈbɔːdə /

noun

1. a band or margin around or along the edge of something

2. the dividing line or frontier between political or geographic regions

3. 1. a region straddling such a boundary

   2. ( as modifier )

      border country

4. 1. a design or ornamental strip around the edge or rim of something, such as a printed page or dinner plate

   2. ( as modifier )

      a border illustration

5. a long narrow strip of ground planted with flowers, shrubs, trees, etc, that skirts a path or wall or surrounds a lawn or other area

   a herbaceous border

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verb

1. (tr) to decorate or provide with a border

2. 1. to be adjacent (to); lie along the boundary (of)

      his land borders on mine

   2. to be nearly the same (as); verge (on)

      his stupidity borders on madness

Border ² British  

/ ˈbɔːdə /

noun

1. (often plural) the area straddling the border between England and Scotland

2. the area straddling the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

3. the region in S South Africa around East London

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Border ³ British  

/ ˈbɔːdə /

noun

1. Allan ( Robert ). born 1955, Australian cricketer; played in 156 test matches (1978–1994), 93 as captain; first Australian batsman to score 10,000 test runs

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Usage

What does border mean? A border is the outer edge of a surface or image that marks its boundary in reference to others, such as a border you draw around a picture. A border is also a line that acts as a boundary between two or more geographic areas, whether it’s small areas, like between neighbors on the same street, or large areas, like between countries. To border often means to create a border, as on a picture. To border can also mean to form a border or to be next to one, as in Maine borders New Hampshire to the west and south and Canada to the north and east. Example: The border around the image is quite interesting, but I don’t think it fits the piece.

Synonym Usage

See edge. See boundary.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bordered
  adjective
• borderless
  adjective
• transborder
  adjective
• unbordered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• borders
  plural

Participles

• bordering
  present
• bordered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• border
  simple
• borders
  simple
• have bordered
  perfect
• has bordered
  perfect
• am bordering
  progressive
• are bordering
  progressive
• is bordering
  progressive
• have been bordering
  perfect progressive
• has been bordering
  perfect progressive

Past

• bordered
  simple
• had bordered
  perfect
• was bordering
  progressive
• were bordering
  progressive
• had been bordering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will border
  simple
• will have bordered
  perfect
• will be bordering
  progressive
• will have been bordering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of border

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English bordure, from Anglo-French, Old French, equivalent to bord(er) “to border” (derivative of bord “ship's side, edge,” from Germanic; see board) + -ure noun suffix; see -ure

Explanation

When you cross a border from one country into another, you'll need to show your identification papers and maybe a visa to the border patrol officials. A border separates one thing from another, most famously countries. Sometimes neighboring countries have border disputes, if they don't think the lines were drawn fairly or if they don't get along. Borders can also be less official. You might want to plant a border of cabbages along your front walk, or you could sew a border of sequins along the edge of your collar. But you'd have to go easy on the sequins, as too many would "border on the garish."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

border Border borders bordered bordering

She moved to Menton, near the Italian border, in the vain hope that the warm climate would cure her tuberculosis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Five of the nine states most likely to decide Senate control border Canada — Alaska, Ohio, Michigan, New Hampshire and Maine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

It also said the proportion of Welsh patients progressing from referral for some types of surgery was "significantly lower" than across the border, while the rate of surgery referrals was "significantly higher".

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

TotalEnergies suspended work on the $20 billion liquefied natural gas project near the border with Tanzania after the attack, but relaunched it in January.

From Barron's

The same Household Finance that had pushed Steve Eisman over the narrow border between Wall Street skeptic and Wall Street cynic.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Then Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, who had been leading the immigration operations in California, was among those outside the event, joined by agents in helmets, camouflage, masks and holding guns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Customs and Border Protection officers at the port of Cincinnati identified roughly 5,000 shipments of unapproved peptides, including retatrutide, shipped through large cartons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

ICE’s creation seemed redundant at the time; we already had Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Customs Service and the Border Patrol, which were combined into the Customs and Border Protection.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

As a result, Border Force and the coastguard opted to bring the group ashore at Eastney Landing in Portsmouth, with lifeboats from Bembridge and Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight assisting in the operation.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

I would tell them that the Border Patrol officer had made a mistake thinking I was here illegally, that once I proved to him I was born in Colton, California, he let me back in.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

The White House said in a statement, “These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

The central frieze’s action is explicated by Latin captions and framed by upper and lower borders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

A recent Harris poll reveals that nearly half of Americans have considered a move beyond U.S. borders.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

However, as Gabriel has an EU passport, it is possible he will be allowed to join a club within European Union borders on his 16th birthday.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

They say he was in Azerbaijan when the war began, and the borders were closed.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

To make the cabinets her own, she took inspiration from Danish flower paintings and began hand-painting pink flowers against a white background on the fronts, allowing them to be bordered by the original brown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Our campsite bordered the Fefine, a large river that flows even in the dry season.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

The proposal would create new traffic patterns for ships transiting the strait, which is bordered by Iran on the northern shore and Oman on the southern.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

The KBV, a national association representing statutory health insurance physicians, said that it "bordered on madness" to force thousands of people to visit doctors' surgeries simply to fill in forms.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

“And not from Kojo. His grandfather came to America from Zimbabwe, a landlocked country in southern Africa that’s bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Mozambique.”

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

Communities across all states bordering Wyoming face darkness, breathing difficulties and roofs collapsing under accumulated ash.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Boundaries are extremely tricky to maintain with people who are insistent and/or bordering on pushy.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

He has won six out of the seven counties bordering the lake in all of his three presidential runs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city on the North African coast, bordering Morocco and separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Baby tarpon are abundant in all that labyrinth of mangrove-lined streams and canals bordering the lower third of the western coast of Florida.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• abut
• adjoin
• encircle
• flank
• neighbor
• surround