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circumscribe
[ sur-kuhm-skrahyb, sur-kuhm-skrahyb ]
/ ˈsɜr kəmˌskraɪb, ˌsɜr kəmˈskraɪb /
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verb (used with object), cir·cum·scribed, cir·cum·scrib·ing.
to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
to enclose within bounds; limit or confine, especially narrowly: Her social activities are circumscribed by school regulations.
to mark off; define; delimit: to circumscribe the area of a science.
Geometry.
- to draw (a figure) around another figure so as to touch as many points as possible.
- (of a figure) to enclose (another figure) in this manner.
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Origin of circumscribe
OTHER WORDS FROM circumscribe
Words nearby circumscribe
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use circumscribe in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for circumscribe
circumscribe
/ (ˌsɜːkəmˈskraɪb, ˈsɜːkəmˌskraɪb) /
verb (tr)
to restrict within limits
to mark or set the bounds of
to draw a geometric construction around (another construction) so that the two are in contact but do not intersectCompare inscribe (def. 4)
to draw a line round
Derived forms of circumscribe
circumscribable, adjectivecircumscriber, nounWord Origin for circumscribe
C15: from Latin circumscrībere, from circum- + scrībere to write
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for circumscribe
circumscribe
[ sûr′kəm-skrīb′ ]
To draw a figure around another figure so as to touch as many points as possible. A circle that is circumscribed around a triangle touches it at each of the triangle's three vertices.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.