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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in circling
to travel completely around an asteroid belt that girdles the inner planets of the solar system

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in surrounding
to form a circle around the rings that famously girdle the planet Saturn

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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 girdling 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for girdling
  1. wrapping
  2. circling
  3. surrounding
  4. traversing
  5. encircling
  6. orbiting
Verb
  • Either thaw them at room temperature or reheat them by wrapping frozen muffins or loaves in foil and placing them in a 300ºF oven for 12 to 15 minutes (muffins) or up to 30 minutes (loaves) until heated through.
    — Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Aug. 2026
  • If weather is the issue, consider wrapping your boxwoods in burlap during winter to protect against harsh winds and cold temperatures.
    — Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of wrapping
Verb
  • The captain of a lobster diving boat, Steven Del Sol, told officials that his vessel was anchored off Fisher Island when Simpson's Conch-brand boat allegedly approached him at high speed and began circling his boat, the arrest affidavit said.
    — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Journal, rest, take a silent walk, or name the thought that keeps circling.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of circling
Verb
  • Meanwhile, the soil surrounding the house is eroding and the structure is sinking.
    — William Earl, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Pride in our rising football team is already apparent across campus and is growing throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.
    — Monique Carroll, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of surrounding
Verb
  • His adventures traversing a broken land of haunted people and animals may be less the stuff of future myth and more about trauma, but Yoon brilliantly creates voices for human and canine that make both more whole.
    — Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026
  • The Leadville 100 Trail Run is an extremely challenging, high-alpine endurance race renowned for not only traversing 100 miles but also scaling a collective 14,000 vertical feet.
    — Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 31 July 2026
Definition of traversing
Verb
  • 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
Definition of encircling
Verb
  • So the 8,800-pound (4,000 kilograms) rocket body remained up there, orbiting Earth — until solar activity and gravitational forces pushed it on a collision course for the moon.
    — Mike Wall, Space.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Others are colder than the empty vacuum of space, while a few wander the galaxy without orbiting a single star.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of orbiting

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girdles
girdling
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Cite this Entry

“Girdling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/girdling. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on girdling

Nglish: Translation of girdling for Spanish Speakers

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