border on
phrasal verb
bordered on; bordering on; borders on
1
: to have a border on (something) : to lie on a boundary of (something)
The area my ancestors come from borders on the Atacama Desert.
2
: to be very like (something) : to come very close to being (something)
The play's dialog borders on the ridiculous.
an enthusiasm bordering on fanaticism
Examples of border on in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Set within 860 acres of ponderosa pines, YMCA of the Rockies–Estes Park Center is bordered on three sides by Rocky Mountain National Park.
—
Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
Heavenly straddles the California-Nevada border on the south side of Lake Tahoe, near South Lake Tahoe and Stateline, Nevada.
—Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Powell plays him with an ease that borders on dangerous.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 18 Feb. 2026
Cue the lively, passionate debate, which might even border on outright head-butting as foreplay.
—Maressa Brown, InStyle, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for border on
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Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
Heavenly straddles the California-Nevada border on the south side of Lake Tahoe, near South Lake Tahoe and Stateline, Nevada.
—Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Powell plays him with an ease that borders on dangerous.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 18 Feb. 2026
Cue the lively, passionate debate, which might even border on outright head-butting as foreplay.
—Maressa Brown, InStyle, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for border on
Cite this Entry
“Border on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/border%20on. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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