circumscribe

American  

[sur-kuhm-skrahyb, sur-kuhm-skrahyb] / ˈsɜr kəmˌskraɪb, ˌsɜr kəmˈskraɪb /

verb (used with object)

circumscribed, circumscribing

1. to draw a line around; encircle.

   to circumscribe a city on a map.

2. to enclose within bounds; limit or confine, especially narrowly.

   Her social activities are circumscribed by school regulations.

   Synonyms:

   hinder, hamper, check, restrain, restrict

3. to mark off; define; delimit.

   to circumscribe the area of a science.

4. Geometry.

   1. to draw (a figure) around another figure so as to touch as many points as possible.

   2. (of a figure) to enclose (another figure) in this manner.

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circumscribe British  

/ ˌsɜːkəmˈskraɪb, ˈsɜːkəmˌskraɪb /

verb

1. to restrict within limits

2. to mark or set the bounds of

3. to draw a geometric construction around (another construction) so that the two are in contact but do not intersect Compare inscribe

4. to draw a line round

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circumscribe Scientific  

/ sûr′kəm-skrīb′ /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• circumscribable adjective
• circumscriber noun
• noncircumscribed adjective
• uncircumscribable adjective
• uncircumscribed adjective

Etymology

Origin of circumscribe

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin circumscrībere, equivalent to circum- circum- + scrībere to write

Explanation

To circumscribe is to limit or restrict. If you spend too much time watching TV instead of fulfilling other obligations, you might circumscribe your TV-watching time to one hour daily (or two hours, if your favorite show is on). Circumscribe comes from the Latin words circum, meaning "around," and scribere, meaning "to write." If the word circumscribe causes you to think of geometry class, give yourself a pat on the back. In geometry, circumscribe means to draw one geometric figure around another figure so that the two figures touch but don’t intersect. If you studied geometry but this sounds unfamiliar, perhaps you should have taken our advice about watching too much TV.

Example Sentences

Perhaps anyone could guess as much, but what a layman might never know without Stanford’s book is that our busy roads severely circumscribe the territory cougars can roam, leading to isolation and inbreeding.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2024

The charter provision does not appear to circumscribe that investigative authority for the department’s highest-ranking officer, the police chief.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 13, 2023

Those who ban books seem to want to circumscribe empathy, reserving it for a limited circle closer to the kind of people they perceive themselves to be.

From New York Times • Jan. 29, 2022

Howlers typically start at dusk and end hours later, following desolate fire roads that circumscribe an area known to contain wolves.

From Washington Post • Jul. 28, 2021

The most important of these five conditions is the third, and its importance consists in this, that the objects defined in the memorandum circumscribe the sphere of the company’s activities.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 7 "Columbus" to "Condottiere" by Various

Related Words

• delineate