encompass

[ en-kuhm-puh s ]

/ ɛnˈkʌm pəs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR encompass ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to form a circle about; encircle; surround: He built a moat to encompass the castle.

to enclose; envelop: The folds of a great cloak encompassed her person.

to include comprehensively: a work that encompasses the entire range of the world's religious beliefs.

Obsolete. to outwit.

Nearby words

Origin of encompass

First recorded in 1545–55; en-¹ + compass

Related formsen·com·pass·ment, nounun·en·com·passed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for encompassed

They encompassed diversity of many kinds, sex-worker rights, and labor rights.
Organic, Fair-Trade Porn: On the Hunt for Ethical Smut|Rachel Kramer Bussel|April 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The exceptions carved out by the court “encompassed our entire agenda.”
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When Dido came to Africa she bought of the natives "as much land as could be encompassed with a bull's hide."
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Prague is the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, which, as if protected by nature, is encompassed round with high mountains.
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The tribunal of Hellebicus and Caesarius, encompassed with armed soldiers, was erected in the midst of the Forum.
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|Edward Gibbon
He could not doubt it was encompassed by spies; he could not but attend the seizure, the crisis, the outcome.
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The peasants had encompassed all the footways, though they were mostly of a mind that the Earl had made off to his ships.
The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade)|Snorri Sturluson

British Dictionary definitions for encompassed

encompass

/ (ɪnˈkʌmpəs) /

verb (tr)

to enclose within a circle; surround

to bring about; cause to happen; contrivehe encompassed the enemy's ruin

to include entirely or comprehensivelythis book encompasses the whole range of knowledge

Derived Formsencompassment, noun

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

Word Origin and History for encompassed