enclose
Americanverb (used with object)
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encloses,
present (3rd person singular)
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enclosed,
past participle, past
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enclosing
present participle
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to shut or hem in; close in on all sides.
a valley enclosed by tall mountains.
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to surround, as with a fence or wall.
to enclose land.
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to insert in the same envelope, package, or the like.
He enclosed a check.
A book was sent with the bill enclosed.
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to hold or contain.
His letter enclosed a check.
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Roman Catholic Church.
verb
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to close; hem in; surround
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to surround (land) with or as if with a fence
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to put in an envelope or wrapper, esp together with a letter
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to contain or hold
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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enclosernoun
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preencloseverb (used with object)
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reencloseverb (used with object)
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enclosableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enclosesimple
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enclosessimple
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have enclosedperfect
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has enclosedperfect
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am enclosingprogressive
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are enclosingprogressive
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is enclosingprogressive
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have been enclosingperfect progressive
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has been enclosingperfect progressive
Past
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enclosedsimple
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had enclosedperfect
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was enclosingprogressive
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were enclosingprogressive
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had been enclosingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enclose
First recorded in 1275–1325, enclose is from the Middle English word enclosen, inclosen. See in- 1, close
Explanation
To enclose something is to surround it or cover it up. An envelope encloses a letter. To enclose is to put something inside something else. A crowd of people could enclose a celebrity, or a wall might enclose a garden. In Edgar Allan Poe’s story “Masque of the Red Death,” the Prince encloses his party guests inside the castle walls (along with the Red Death). (Oops!) A box might enclose a present. If you enclose something with a letter, you’re putting it in the envelope, too.
Vocabulary lists containing enclose
Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
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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:
Four walls enclose the courts, including a 15-foot-tall front wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
A family found the cans - light-tight containers used to enclose film - in the shed belonging to their father, an editor on the show who died recently.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2024
Tuesday to enclose the encampment, which went up Monday, but did not order anyone to disperse.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2024
Their capsule-like shape can enclose and protect mRNA, which provides instructions for cells to manufacture proteins.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2024
When Mammachi decided to enclose the back verandah, it was Velutha who designed and built the sliding-folding door that later became all the rage in Ayemenem.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
But it had no lights of its own, so the volunteers used the LED lights and glow sticks to attach homemade Dodgers-themed signage to the fence that encloses the bridge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
Mr. Nesbø encloses “Wolf Hour,” translated from the Norwegian by Robert Ferguson, in a clever conceptual envelope: The book is being written years later by a Norwegian cousin of Bob’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
This process, discovered by Nobel laureate Yoshinori Ohsumi in 2016, encloses the accumulation within a lipid membrane similar to a cell membrane.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2025
It’s so stark, so subtle in how it encloses the space, turning it into a haven.
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2024
He encloses one of my hands perfectly between two of his.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
In 1965, American superfan Kathy Salt wrote to then-occupant Ashley Jones, who enclosed a photograph of the house and a key, with a tag attached, in his letter back.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Visitors were directed to enter through the museum’s two enclosed security booths off the plaza.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Not exactly what you want to hear while inside a winged, enclosed metal tube traveling at 530 miles per hour, 35,000 feet above the ground.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Malls are outperforming every other commercial-property type as more investors bet that enclosed shopping centers have more staying power than previously understood, the Journal’s Kate King writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Concrete walls enclosed a weed-dotted parade field, a jail, and a mustard-colored barracks.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Bizarrely, a green gate and fence enclosing the site stood untouched.
From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026
Some hotels have been moving the sink and shower into the bedroom and enclosing the toilet in glass or placing it in cubby-like space, which helps make the room look more spacious, Hanson said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
Survey work has been conducted over the last two decades but researchers believed critical questions about "the date, development and function of both the enclosing elements and the internal settlement remain unanswered".
From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2026
In fact, it later puffs up sideways and transforms into what looks like a huge cosmic watermelon, enclosing everything close by.
From Space Scoop ● Nov. 28, 2025
I am enclosing something else for you, which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
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.
