encircling 1 of 2

adjective

as in surrounding

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encircling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of encircle
1
as in circling
to travel completely around communication satellites encircling the earth

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in encompassing
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 encircling
Verb
The zoning resolution for the Manhattanville extension explicitly forbids encircling any of the outdoor spaces with gates or fences. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 19 Aug. 2026 Finding a planet-forming disk of gas and dust encircling all three stars in a system is very rare, and finding a disk consisting of three rings with misaligned orbits is even stranger. — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 17 Aug. 2026 Champions Nigeria enter with 10 stars encircling the crest on their jerseys, having won 10 of the previous 13 WAFCONs, and looking to add an 11th. — Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 26 July 2026 The stone is halo-set on a pavé band—jewelry lingo for having a ring of small white diamonds encircling the stone and covering the band. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 21 July 2026 Cheers roared from the crowd encircling the concrete arena as two skateboarders slammed into each other at top speed. — Miami Herald, 25 June 2026 Styled by Brad Goreski, Moore wore a custom cobalt blue Self Portrait gown with an oversized bow encircling the hips, falling into a train. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 22 May 2026 Bad weather postponed a major construction project on Atlanta's primary highway encircling the city last weekend, but now the traffic chaos is here. — Irene Wright, USA Today, 15 May 2026 By using drones to interdict supply lines from a distance, Ukrainian forces can impose the effects of a siege without physically encircling a city, redefining how an opponent can be isolated in modern warfare. — Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircling
  1. surrounding
  2. circling
  3. embracing
  4. orbiting
  5. connecting
  6. traversing
  7. joined
  8. attached
Adjective
  • The system, which serves 100,000 residents in Iowa City and its surrounding, mostly rural communities, typifies the challenges most libraries face.
    — Adeel Hassan, New York Times, 18 May 2026
  • Since then, the bustling market serves the surrounding and significant Latino community and others.
    — Susan Selasky, Freep.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Definition of surrounding
Verb
  • Due to a combination of circling real estate developers and personal financial crises, the Pogues’ homes are under threat.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The film premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section to rave reviews and a lengthy standing ovation before buyers quickly started circling and A24 emerged with the worldwide rights.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of circling
Adjective
  • The saints’ days are celebrated, the great days of history are celebrated, and they’re celebrated with this sort of enormous exuberance and deep investment that is somehow very, very touching, very embracing, and very inclusive.
    — Terry Ward, AFAR Media, 2 Sep. 2025
Definition of embracing
Verb
  • Hera is en route to study the aftermath of NASA’s DART mission that intentionally crashed a spacecraft into a small moon orbiting a larger asteroid.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Some of Voyager 2’s biggest surprises came from the moons orbiting those planets.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of orbiting
Adjective
  • Znotins acknowledges that the airline makes prices for those non-connecting trips expensive to discourage non-connecting customers from booking them.
    — Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Gateway is modified to first repair the old 1910 tunnel immediately and construct a more economical new tunnel (without expensive and unneeded bench walls and cross-connecting passageways) and link it directly into Penn Station.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 16 Feb. 2026
Definition of connecting
Verb
  • These memorable rail journeys - one in Canada, two in the United States - offer up incredible panroamas, city stops, mountains and forests, traversing long distances across the continent.
    — Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Paul Anthony Kelly looks comfortable traversing both fantasies.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of traversing
Adjective
  • Kar, the company’s CEO, was a founding team member at Palo Alto Networks and oversaw Juniper Networks’ entire Ethernet portfolio before the two joined forces at Auradine, a blockchain and AI chip startup where Upscale was incubated.
    — Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 22 June 2026
  • The 28-year-old has won eight Grands Prix across nine seasons for Ferrari, having initially joined the joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016.
    — Luke Smith, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Definition of joined
Adjective
  • The property includes a deck, an attached garage, native landscaping, and access to hiking, dining, and shopping.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Each home will have an attached two-car garage, with additional street parking incorporated throughout the development.
    — Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of attached

Browse Nearby Words

encircles
encircling
enclasp
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Cite this Entry

“Encircling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircling. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of encircling for Spanish Speakers

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