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

But for a tourbillon chronograph, outside of the world of niche independents, that figure borders on reasonable, given the rarity of such complexity from a major Swiss marque. —Thor Svaboe, Robb Report, 12 Nov. 2025

For Propst, the prospect of losing the lion’s share of his 12-dog kennel bordered on the unthinkable. —John McCoy, Outdoor Life, 12 Nov. 2025

Booker is a nice player now in his 11th season, bordering on superstar status with four All-Star appearances and two All-NBA nods, including First-Team All-NBA in 2021-22. —Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 12 Nov. 2025

This is the vibe that Edgar Wright is chasing with his version of The Running Man, which hews closely to the original text with a fidelity bordering on hero worship. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025

Rhymes for border on

• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon
• chitosan
• cynodon
• denouement
• deuteron
• echelon