border on

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

With a playing kit now bordering on the fluorescent, they cannot be missed. —Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 3 June 2026

The calm atmosphere occasionally borders on soporific. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

The tension between the two boils over into a confrontation which only Eisenhower can adjudicate, a task complicated by his own arrogant British subordinate, a wiry and dislikable General Bernard Montgomery - played with a villainous verve bordering on the pantomime by Damian Lewis. —Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 29 May 2026

Shelley says the work borders on an experimental sound installation. —Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 27 May 2026

Rhymes for border on

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