1
as in to circle
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to surround
to form a circle around
immediately after announcing their engagement, the couple was encircled by their applauding friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of encircle
Heck, even the names in the Ring of Honor encircling the stadium between its decks will be vulnerable to being cloaked by FIFA branding or advertising signage.
—
Kansas City Star, 12 May 2026
Chopard’s charming—and chiming—Beehive Clock, a table clock standing nearly a foot tall with seven tiers of rounded glass segments encircling a multi-level mechanical movement, stood out among the new releases for the same reason the Nautilus desk watch (Ref.
—Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 11 May 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Kansas City Star, 12 May 2026
Chopard’s charming—and chiming—Beehive Clock, a table clock standing nearly a foot tall with seven tiers of rounded glass segments encircling a multi-level mechanical movement, stood out among the new releases for the same reason the Nautilus desk watch (Ref.
—Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 11 May 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircle
Verb
-
Tension would circle the Rangers throughout what became the most memorable season in the franchise’s 100-year history, which culminated with a seven-game series win over the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final.—
Vincent Z. Mercogliano,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
Kept individually in cages that circled the main performance ring, the big cats were a magnetic framing to the acts that came before.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
The characterful 850-year-old property is in the postcard-perfect town of Oberau, surrounded by pure air, pristine peaks, and crowd-free forest trails that inevitably propel guests towards a stress-busting nature immersion.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 May 2026
-
Former Prince Andrew was absent from the lineup as he was stripped of his royal duties in 2019 amid controversy surrounding his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.—
Paloma Chavez,
PEOPLE,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
Over 65 hours The longest Amtrak train route is the Texas Eagle, which runs between Chicago and Los Angeles with a long leg spent traversing Texas (hence the name).—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
23 May 2026
-
Furthermore, our cosmos might be so vast that light simply hasn’t had enough time to traverse it.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
One of the three astronauts on the Shenzhou 23 mission is scheduled to stay at the orbiting space station for a year in what would be among the world’s longest single stays in space.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 May 2026
-
Tito orbited Earth 128 times and even did some science experiments.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encircle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircle. Accessed 26 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
