1
as in to circle
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to surround
to form a circle around
immediately after announcing their engagement, the couple was encircled by their applauding friends
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of encircle
The round diamond, encircled by a halo of smaller diamonds, sits on a double-diamond band.
—
Ilana Frost, PEOPLE, 9 May 2026
Police then encircled the shooter, who used one more bullet on himself.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
As for the county of Los Angeles, about half of its 4,700-plus square miles are made up of the forests and oceans and deserts that encircle it.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
The upper features criss-crossing straps across the toes and skinner straps encircling the ankle.
—Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Ilana Frost, PEOPLE, 9 May 2026
Police then encircled the shooter, who used one more bullet on himself.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
As for the county of Los Angeles, about half of its 4,700-plus square miles are made up of the forests and oceans and deserts that encircle it.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
The upper features criss-crossing straps across the toes and skinner straps encircling the ankle.
—Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircle
Verb
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Now, Pakistan is quietly growing its influence in the region while Washington and Tehran circle one another for another round of negotiations.—
Rafi Schwartz,
TheWeek,
13 May 2026
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Given rumors were circling that José Mourinho was on his way back to manage the team next season, some assumed Pérez would be addressing that, looking to steady the ship after a torrid few months in the Spanish capital.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Tennessee’s social media team went up and down Broadway, and the surrounding area in downtown Nashville to find lookalikes of key figures of their 2026 opponents.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
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It’s mostly surrounded by embassies and law firms, not cafés or galleries.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
Verb
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The wheels will provide excellent reliability and energy efficiency for traversing the Lunar surface, while the arms provide great dexterity to manipulate objects.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
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Again, his narration for the eight-part series, which used captivating cinematography and told dramatic stories of animals traversing the natural world, won an Emmy.—
Amarachi Orie,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
Verb
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In 2022, similar detection work resulted in NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which slammed the DART spacecraft into the small asteroid Dimorphos orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, changing the orbits of both child and parent around the sun.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 May 2026
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The system contains a black hole and a massive blue supergiant star orbiting each other.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encircle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircle. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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