1
as in to circle
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
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2
as in to surround
to form a circle around
immediately after announcing their engagement, the couple was encircled by their applauding friends
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Recent Examples of encircle
An abrasion from a rope or some other ligature encircled her neck.
—
Lizz Schumer, People.com, 29 Dec. 2024
The strategic coal-mining city and transportation hub is partially encircled by a much larger force of Russian infantry and artillery.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 24 Dec. 2024
Abu Safiya said that, over the weekend, tanks and bulldozers encircled the hospital’s western gates, with heavy gunfire continuously aimed at the facility in Beit Latiya.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 23 Dec. 2024
Yoon defended his decision for troops to be deployed at the election commission as other forces were encircling the National Assembly.
—Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 21 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for encircle 
Lizz Schumer, People.com, 29 Dec. 2024
The strategic coal-mining city and transportation hub is partially encircled by a much larger force of Russian infantry and artillery.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 24 Dec. 2024
Abu Safiya said that, over the weekend, tanks and bulldozers encircled the hospital’s western gates, with heavy gunfire continuously aimed at the facility in Beit Latiya.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 23 Dec. 2024
Yoon defended his decision for troops to be deployed at the election commission as other forces were encircling the National Assembly.
—Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 21 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for encircle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircle
Verb
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The movie also circles around themes of loss, betrayal, unrequited love, and loneliness — but it can easily be missed among the profuse amount of tinsel and blinking Christmas lights.Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 6 Jan. 2025
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Outside, a helicopter that appeared to be watching the gathering below circled overhead, drowning out conversations.Edgar Sandoval, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The Slim 9i is, according to Lenovo, the first 14in laptop to have a display with a 98% screen-to-body ratio, meaning that there’s virtually no bezel surrounding the display.Barry Collins, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
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The confusion surrounding Holmes stands as a cautionary tale about the manipulation of copyright law—not by opportunists exploiting a valuable piece of intellectual property, but by the character’s official custodians.Alec Nevala-Lee, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Guests can traverse bumpy tracks by Jeep to picnic on the never-ending sandy stretch of beaches.Rooksana Hossenally, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
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The Traitors were not so subtly traversing the castle to find each other.Tom Smyth, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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That’s an unusual feature, as electrons paired by phonons don’t orbit each other.Charlie Wood, WIRED, 12 Jan. 2025
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The astronomical alignment is technically called the ecliptic, which represents the plane of the solar system where planets orbit around the Sun, according to NASA.Hannah Poukish, Sacramento Bee, 11 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near encircle
Cite this Entry
“Encircle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircle. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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