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

Democrats held a marathon lunch meeting Tuesday, bordering on three hours, to hash out the options ahead of them, and air some grievances. —Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2025

Chen, a staff sergeant who served in the Armored Corps, had been stationed at the Gaza border on October 7. —Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025

Going into Detroit and snatching a victory, given the circumstances, would be an energy boost bordering on rocket-propulsion levels. —Alec Lewis, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2025

Artemas began self-releasing music in 2020 with material that bordered on softer indie-pop. —Thomas Smith, Billboard, 29 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for border on

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