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

Tijuana, Mexico: A Navy officer stands by while a Red Cross worker assists a man detained at the U.S.-Mexico border on February 5 on Mexico’s northwestern coast. —Jesus Mesa gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025

Hotel Fear is very difficult viewing, and the film’s treatment of Rosa borders on the sadistic. —Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025

The island just three miles wide and seven miles long, bordered on all sides by clear, sapphire seas. —Brianna Randall, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025

The 3-2 pitch came in: a low fastball that bordered on touching the edge of the box, per MLB.com’s Gamecast strike zone. —Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 22 June 2025

Rhymes for border on

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