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
Imagine bullfights in Beijing, Chinese conquistadors capturing Constantinople for Spain, and a Habsburg Empire that completely encircled the globe.
—
Big Think, 29 Oct. 2025
Others, particularly in North Carolina, remained year-round lakes encircled by sandy rims.
—Mike Bezemek, Outside, 29 Oct. 2025
One or two sat on the floor, encircled by newspaper articles, glancing back and forth as if trying to decode a message.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Discussing the status of Russia’s ground war in Ukraine, Gerasimov told Putin that Kremlin forces had encircled the city of Kupyansk in the northeast Kharkiv region.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Big Think, 29 Oct. 2025
Others, particularly in North Carolina, remained year-round lakes encircled by sandy rims.
—Mike Bezemek, Outside, 29 Oct. 2025
One or two sat on the floor, encircled by newspaper articles, glancing back and forth as if trying to decode a message.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Discussing the status of Russia’s ground war in Ukraine, Gerasimov told Putin that Kremlin forces had encircled the city of Kupyansk in the northeast Kharkiv region.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircle
Verb
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The agent who had circled around the passenger side can be seen on the driver's side, returning his gun to his holster.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
7 Jan. 2026
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So instead, to keep costs down and power up, the Starcloud satellite flies what is known as a dawn-dusk sun-synchronous orbit, circling the planet at a near vertical 83° angle that carries it over the poles and keeps it almost constantly exposed to the sun.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The porous polymer coating that reflects up to 97 percent of sunlight and radiates heat into the air, keeping surfaces up to six degrees cooler than the surrounding air even under direct sun.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Nov. 2025
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And Woll is seemingly in a good place after returning to the Leafs, taking part in multiple high-tempo practices, and on Friday, speaking to the media for the first time surrounding his absence.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The video showed the mysterious concept, dubbed Corleo, roaming rocky terrain, leaping over icy crevasses, crossing snowy landscapes without losing its footing, and traversing a dark forest at night — all while carrying an adult rider on its back and being powered by a hydrogen power cell.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
8 Jan. 2026
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The massive International Sportsmen’s Expo returns to the Colorado Convention Center this weekend for all things hunting, fishing and traversing the land.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The four astronauts will lift off from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and spend the first two days orbiting the Earth, testing their life-support systems.—
The Week,
TheWeek,
7 Jan. 2026
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The budget would preserve NASA missions to Venus, Uranus and the Habitable Worlds Observatory that are meant to search for life on planets orbiting nearby stars, as well as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is slated for launch next year.—
Dan Vergano,
Scientific American,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Encircle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircle. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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