1
as in to circle
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
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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
More vine designs encircle one wrist and finger.
—
Kara Nesvig, Allure, 9 Mar. 2026
The sprawling Discover campus features a complex of four buildings encircling a large retention pond.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
Much like snowballs are composed of clusters of snowflakes, planetesimals likely arose within the disks of dust that encircled the newborn sun from clouds of pebble-sized objects pulled together by their mutual gravitational attraction.
—Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 26 Feb. 2026
On Sunday, Mexican special forces encircled Oseguera Cervante s and captured him after a firefight on the outskirts of Tapalpa.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Kara Nesvig, Allure, 9 Mar. 2026
The sprawling Discover campus features a complex of four buildings encircling a large retention pond.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
Much like snowballs are composed of clusters of snowflakes, planetesimals likely arose within the disks of dust that encircled the newborn sun from clouds of pebble-sized objects pulled together by their mutual gravitational attraction.
—Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 26 Feb. 2026
On Sunday, Mexican special forces encircled Oseguera Cervante s and captured him after a firefight on the outskirts of Tapalpa.
—ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircle
Verb
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Some names, like Marist’s Kate Harpring and Wheeler’s Colben Landrew, were circled by many before the week began.—
Jack Leo,
AJC.com,
18 Mar. 2026
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Almost seven years after starting to build out its broadband constellation in low Earth orbit, SpaceX now has more than 10,000 active Starlink satellites circling the planet.—
Robert Z. Pearlman,
Space.com,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The rooms Quiet luxury is the name of the game at Amanyara and the resort consists of one-to-two bedroom pavilions and three-to-six bedroom villas, each surrounded by forest, with park or ocean views.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
14 Mar. 2026
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Otherwise, Chatham is just a crossroads surrounded by turnrows and a few swampy stands of cypress trees.—
Boyce Upholt,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Travelers will traverse Kansas, pass through the Ozarks in Missouri and into Illinois then veer south again into Kentucky.—
Nicole Blanchard,
Idaho Statesman,
15 Mar. 2026
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Some 80 oil and gas tankers a day typically traversed the Strait of Hormuz before the war, The New York Times noted.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Since stars in the M dwarf stars category frequently host compact multi-planet systems, the team also examined whether additional planets might be orbiting TOI-1080.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
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This is the first spaceflight for Cardman and Platonov, the fourth trip for Fincke, and the second for Yui, to the orbiting laboratory.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encircle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircle. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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