Synonyms of girdling

girdling

verb

present participle of girdle

1

as in wrapping

to encircle or bind with or as if with a belt

trees girdled the campus, essentially hiding it from view

wire girdling the bundle of firewood

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wrapping
• circling
• bandaging
• girding
• banding
• engirdling
• taping
• belting
• enwinding
• girting
• girthing
• looping
• engirding
• lashing
• begirding
• winding
• trussing
• tying up
• swathing
• roping
• wreathing
• cording
• chaining
• wiring
• shackling
• enchaining
• enwreathing
• enswathing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unwrapping
• unwinding
• untying
• unshackling
• unbinding
• ungirding
• unlashing

2

as in circling

to travel completely around

an asteroid belt that girdles the inner planets of the solar system

Synonyms & Similar Words

• circling
• traversing
• orbiting
• encircling
• crossing
• ringing
• circumventing
• rounding
• circuiting
• circumnavigating
• compassing
• circumambulating
• perambulating

3

as in surrounding

to form a circle around

the rings that famously girdle the planet Saturn

Synonyms & Similar Words

• surrounding
• encircling
• circling
• encompassing
• ringing
• enclosing
• environing
• embracing
• girding
• wreathing
• compassing
• circumscribing
• walling
• swarming
• besieging
• closing in
• fencing (in)
• entrenching
• besetting
• cordoning (off)
• hemming (in)
• investing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of girdling

The tree is less likely to survive if insects or sapsuckers drill holes all the way around the trunk, girdling the tree and eventually starving it. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 22 Sep. 2026

Also, the rootball should be inspected for circling or girdling roots. — Larry Figart, Florida Times-Union, 14 Jan. 2026

Removing this layer restricts the tree from moving water up from the roots or nutrients back down, a process known as girdling. — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Nov. 2025

The new levee begins at the city of San Mateo’s border and runs below the San Mateo Bridge before girdling the city’s borders. — John King, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 Nov. 2023