border
noun
the part or edge of a surface or area that forms its outer boundary.
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border
American
[bawr-der]
/ ˈbɔr dər /
noun
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borders
plural
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the part or edge of a surface or area that forms its outer boundary.
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the line, limit, or delimiting geographic feature that separates one country, state, province, etc., from another: The largest lake within the borders of Canada is Great Bear Lake.
You cannot cross the border without a visa.
The largest lake within the borders of Canada is Great Bear Lake.
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the district or region that lies along the boundary line of another.
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the frontier of civilization.
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the border,
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the border between the United States and Mexico, especially along the Rio Grande.
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(in the British Isles) the region along the boundary between England and Scotland.
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an ornamental strip or design around the edge of a printed page, a drawing, etc.
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an ornamental design or piece of ornamental trimming around the edge of a fabric, rug, garment, article of furniture, etc.
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Horticulture.
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a long, narrow bed planted with flowers, shrubs, or trees.
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a strip of ground in which plants are grown, enclosing an area in a garden or running along the edge of a walk or driveway.
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the plants growing in such a strip.
a border of tulips along the path.
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Theater.
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a narrow curtain or strip of painted canvas hung above the stage, masking the flies and lighting units, and forming the top of the stage set.
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verb (used with object)
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borders,
present (3rd person singular)
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bordered,
past participle, past
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bordering
present participle
-
to make a border around; adorn with a border.
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to form a border or boundary to.
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to lie on the border of; adjoin.
verb (used without object)
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borders,
present (3rd person singular)
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bordered,
past participle, past
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bordering
present participle
-
to form or constitute a border; be next to.
California borders on the Pacific Ocean.
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to approach closely in character; verge.
The situation borders on tragedy.
border
1
British
/ ˈbɔːdə /
noun
-
a band or margin around or along the edge of something
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the dividing line or frontier between political or geographic regions
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a region straddling such a boundary
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( as modifier )
border country
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a design or ornamental strip around the edge or rim of something, such as a printed page or dinner plate
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( as modifier )
a border illustration
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a long narrow strip of ground planted with flowers, shrubs, trees, etc, that skirts a path or wall or surrounds a lawn or other area
a herbaceous border
verb
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(tr) to decorate or provide with a border
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to be adjacent (to); lie along the boundary (of)
his land borders on mine
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to be nearly the same (as); verge (on)
his stupidity borders on madness
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Border
2
British
/ ˈbɔːdə /
noun
-
(often plural) the area straddling the border between England and Scotland
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the area straddling the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
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the region in S South Africa around East London
Border
3
British
/ ˈbɔːdə /
noun
Usage
What does border mean? A border is the outer edge of a surface or image that marks its boundary in reference to others, such as a border you draw around a picture. A border is also a line that acts as a boundary between two or more geographic areas, whether it’s small areas, like between neighbors on the same street, or large areas, like between countries. To border often means to create a border, as on a picture. To border can also mean to form a border or to be next to one, as in Maine borders New Hampshire to the west and south and Canada to the north and east. Example: The border around the image is quite interesting, but I don’t think it fits the piece.
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bordersimple
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borderssimple
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have borderedperfect
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has borderedperfect
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am borderingprogressive
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are borderingprogressive
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is borderingprogressive
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have been borderingperfect progressive
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has been borderingperfect progressive
Past
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borderedsimple
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had borderedperfect
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was borderingprogressive
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were borderingprogressive
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had been borderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of border
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English bordure, from Anglo-French, Old French, equivalent to bord(er) “to border” (derivative of bord “ship's side, edge,” from Germanic; see board) + -ure noun suffix; see -ure
Explanation
When you cross a border from one country into another, you'll need to show your identification papers and maybe a visa to the border patrol officials. A border separates one thing from another, most famously countries. Sometimes neighboring countries have border disputes, if they don't think the lines were drawn fairly or if they don't get along. Borders can also be less official. You might want to plant a border of cabbages along your front walk, or you could sew a border of sequins along the edge of your collar. But you'd have to go easy on the sequins, as too many would "border on the garish."
Vocabulary lists containing border
"The Civil Rights Movement"
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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The United States
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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:
Nowhere is the impact more obvious than at the Flying J, just over the border from Louisiana at the crossroads of a U.S. consumer economy that runs on diesel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
"We will be unrelenting in our efforts to protect our Jewish communities, root out antisemitism in this country, and maintain our border security," she added.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
A big wild card for the project remains al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda affiliate that has expanded its war against the Somali government into border areas of Kenya.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
It drafted a plan that was informed by secret trips to border cities made by Canadian army generals, who would pose as tourists and snap photos of bridges and highways for intelligence.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Days later, German forces crossed the border into Poland.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Customs and Border Protection for hundreds of autonomous surveillance towers along the southern border.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Customs and Border Protection, an arm of DHS that oversees the Border Patrol and customs and immigration at airports, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Last week one boat set off from Normandy and spent more than 30 hours at sea, before being intercepted and taken to Dover by Border Force.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Previously, passengers were able to use other forms of ID, such as driving licences and national identity cards - but the changes are being brought in to comply with UK Border Force rules.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Border police were swamped, trying in vain to ease the gridlock by dividing traffic into four lanes.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Culver City secured an agreement with the operator of the Inglewood Oil Field to shut down the part that lies within its borders by 2029.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
The Spanish economist and author Daniel Lacalle, in a recent conversation with MarketWatch, says France – along with the U.K. and Japan – are the countries whose financial troubles could spill across the borders.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
“These public-service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad,” the White House said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Arrivals have fluctuated over the decades, but plunged sharply during the Covid pandemic when many nations shut their borders.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Something about the borders that decorated each panel reminded Naima of an alpana design.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
To make the cabinets her own, she took inspiration from Danish flower paintings and began hand-painting pink flowers against a white background on the fronts, allowing them to be bordered by the original brown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Our campsite bordered the Fefine, a large river that flows even in the dry season.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
The KBV, a national association representing statutory health insurance physicians, said that it "bordered on madness" to force thousands of people to visit doctors' surgeries simply to fill in forms.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Many German commanders, Mr. Hargreaves reveals, felt Rommel favored “speed first, not safety,” and Rommel’s impulsiveness “frequently bordered on recklessness.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Gold leaf illumined the capitals and the delicate tracery which bordered the pages.
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
At the movies, the PTSD-suffering veteran is a familiar figure, bordering on cliché.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
MCALLEN, Texas — Vanessa Ovalle has a “frontline view” of Texas schools as a single mom and a speech pathologist at a local school in McAllen, a city in the Rio Grande Valley bordering Mexico.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
Communities across all states bordering Wyoming face darkness, breathing difficulties and roofs collapsing under accumulated ash.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Boundaries are extremely tricky to maintain with people who are insistent and/or bordering on pushy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Tall and fair, with blue-green eyes, sandy hair streaked-by the sun, and a lean and comely body, Gerris Drinkwater had a swagger to him, a confidence bordering on arrogance.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
