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

encoignure, encolpion, encomiast, encomienda, encomium, encompass, encopresis, encore, encounter, encounter group, encounter session

Origin of encompass

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

Related forms

en·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 encompassing

The report, encompassing research from March 2011 to November 2013, boasts some truly shocking numbers.
By The Numbers: Syria’s Crimes Against Its Children|Nina Strochlic|February 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The novel moves from the 1990s to 2009, encompassing Hurricane Katrina and the election of President Barack Obama.
All About Grandma: Terry McMillan on Her New Novel, ‘Who Asked You?’|Jane Ciabattari|September 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Bush then lumbered him with a vast new bureaucracy now encompassing over 2,000 souls.
Obama's Dangerous Spy Game|John Lehman|May 22, 2010|DAILY BEAST
August through October 2008 were particularly packed, encompassing 237 pages worth of calls.
Paulson's Revealing Phone Records|Nomi Prins|October 12, 2009|DAILY BEAST

Indeed, idleness, for Russell, is a state one reaches by escaping the encompassing world.
The Professor's Reading List|Stephen L. Carter|March 3, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The person with whom he was conversing he stood over in an encompassing manner, with an air of proprietorship.
Scarlet and Hyssop|E. F. Benson
Only your encompassing eyes peer at me with solemn expostulation out of the shimmering form I conjure up and call my lover.
The Jessica Letters: An Editor's Romance|Paul Elmer More
Clairfait and his Austrians are encompassing Thionville; darkening the North.
The French Revolution|Thomas Carlyle
I beheld Miller Gorse sitting impassive, with his encompassing stare, the strongest man of them all.
A Far Country, Complete|Winston Churchill
You dont need to, and a most affectionate and all encompassing look went from Alma to Nora.
The Girl Scouts at Rocky Ledge|Lilian Garis

British Dictionary definitions for encompassing

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 Forms

encompassment, 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

encompass

verb (used with object)

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of encompass

Related forms

Examples from the Web for encompassing

British Dictionary definitions for encompassing

encompass

verb (tr)

Derived Forms