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
This Iranian regime has spent years focusing outside its borders on fomenting terrorism and aggression in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza, instead of listening to the needs of its own citizens.
—
CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
What comes off as charming, an aura of innocence, is a declaration of independence bordering on defiance.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
Episodes are bound together by banal introductory voiceover, in which our narrator recites ominous clichés that, like everything in His & Hers, border on parody.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Jan. 2026
And anything bordering on colonial or Cold War language—protectorate, satellite state, occupied territory, vassal state, provisional government, client—are pretty much non-starters with the foreign policy establishment that knows these things seldom end well for the bigger power.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for border on
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CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
What comes off as charming, an aura of innocence, is a declaration of independence bordering on defiance.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
Episodes are bound together by banal introductory voiceover, in which our narrator recites ominous clichés that, like everything in His & Hers, border on parody.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Jan. 2026
And anything bordering on colonial or Cold War language—protectorate, satellite state, occupied territory, vassal state, provisional government, client—are pretty much non-starters with the foreign policy establishment that knows these things seldom end well for the bigger power.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 8 Jan. 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 13 Jan. 2026.
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