encompass
Americanverb (used with object)
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encompasses,
present (3rd person singular)
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encompassed,
past participle, past
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encompassing
present participle
verb
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to enclose within a circle; surround
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to bring about; cause to happen; contrive
he encompassed the enemy's ruin
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to include entirely or comprehensively
this book encompasses the whole range of knowledge
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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encompasssimple
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encompassessimple
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have encompassedperfect
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has encompassedperfect
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am encompassingprogressive
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are encompassingprogressive
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is encompassingprogressive
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have been encompassingperfect progressive
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has been encompassingperfect progressive
Past
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encompassedsimple
-
had encompassedperfect
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was encompassingprogressive
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were encompassingprogressive
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had been encompassingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of encompass
Explanation
Encompass means to contain. When you see the word, picture a campus which encompasses lecture halls, a football field, a medical center, a dining hall and some parking lots. Encompass can be used when talking about anything that contains something else. A lecture on Edward Hopper might encompass all aspects of his life and art, a work of art could encompass many techniques, and a policeman's jurisdiction may encompass an entire state. The continental U.S. encompasses 48 states. This entry encompasses many examples of the word encompass in use!
Vocabulary lists containing encompass
Born a Crime
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The Things They Carried
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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:
The daily analysis has evolved over the years to encompass “common suppliers, common customers,” and even ”which stocks are grouped together in passive vehicles,” McNerney said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Rather than explain how a leaner fish or one packed in oil might change the cake, the recipe simply expands to encompass nearly anything.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
It has also updated its features and marketing language to encompass longevity as well as fitness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
“I’m very interested in people who have a creative practice that might encompass objects of art, but could also fashion, costume, dance, music, performance,” Deitch said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Perrington’s eyes fell upon the black ring on his left hand and darkened, as if his pupils had expanded to encompass all of each eye.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Archosaurs, in turn, are the lineage that encompasses two of the best-known groups of terrestrial vertebrates: crocodiles and dinosaurs, including birds.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Wenger has been in a role which encompasses data analysis of the game, Fifa's online training and youth competitions since 2019.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Beth Pinsker writes the Fix My Portfolio column, which encompasses investing, tax and retirement planning, healthcare expenses, estate planning and more.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
This encompasses an estimated 18 million school-aged children.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
New Guinea, though it accounts for only a small fraction of the world’s land area, encompasses a disproportionate fraction of its human diversity.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
That district had been Tennessee's 9th, which encompassed Memphis and was reliably won by Democrats.
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
The area encompassed by the geofence can be larger than several football fields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
Sales for the latest quarter, which encompassed the key holiday-shopping period, were $30.45 billion, down 1.5%, with same-store sales down 2.5%.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 3, 2026
The judge also found that executive orders issued by Trump had relied on a definition of antisemitism that encompassed First Amendment-protected speech — the same definition recommended by the Massachusetts Commission.
From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2025
It encompassed not only the vast archives, but the university, too, together with laboratories and glasshouses, medical theaters and music rooms, and even a celestial observatory.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
A steady buzz is growing around China as advanced robotics emerges as the next frontier of the global AI boom, encompassing both investor enthusiasm and alarm from rivals such as the United States.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Denning describes culture as encompassing values, norms, judgments, history, communities, moods, and even relationships involving power and care.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
Matcha is one, another being Starbucks’s Refreshers drinks—which Nestle has turned into a concentrate encompassing green coffee extract.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Lilly’s chief financial officer, Lucas Montarce, told Barron’s in April that the company was focused on four main growth areas: oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and a final category encompassing cardiometabolic health and diabetes.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
Quite a few of those families occupy large contiguous areas—in the case of Indo-European, the area encompassing most of Europe east through much of western Asia to India.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
