as in encircled
to form a circle around
she was surrounded by cheering fans within moments of scoring the winning goal
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of surrounded
My friend Thai, whose parents were part of the Weather Underground leadership, remembers his father, Jeff Jones, coming home one day to find their family’s Hoboken apartment surrounded by cops—a fire inspector had spotted his tiny crop of marijuana plants on the fire escape.
—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
More than a dozen police and emergency vehicles surrounded a U-Haul truck cordoned off with caution tape outside the stadium.
—Suryatapa Chakraborty, Dallas Morning News, 28 Mar. 2026
Art Dlugach, a longtime sports producer for KPIX in San Francisco, died Thursday morning in Texas, surrounded by his family after a brief illness.
—CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
The bridge is surrounded by thick vegetation, making for a nice transition from the first part of the route, which traveled alongside West Bernardo Drive with the noise of the freeway in the background.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
Within 24 hours of being sworn in at the White House surrounded by family on Wednesday, Mullin had rolled up his sleeves and begun undoing the unprecedented regulations that Noem and her cohort, Corey Lewandowski, had imposed across the department.
—Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2026
Dancers surrounded each set of wheels, and the show forced the game to start 20 minutes later than expected.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2026
Coming into March Madness, much of the conversation around TCU women’s basketball surrounded the dynamic duo of Olivia Miles and Marta Suárez.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2026
Like most of the others, Rodríguez had never set foot in Mexico and had never heard of this city of a million people surrounded by dense jungle.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2026
Zayd Ayers Dohrn, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
More than a dozen police and emergency vehicles surrounded a U-Haul truck cordoned off with caution tape outside the stadium.
—Suryatapa Chakraborty, Dallas Morning News, 28 Mar. 2026
Art Dlugach, a longtime sports producer for KPIX in San Francisco, died Thursday morning in Texas, surrounded by his family after a brief illness.
—CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
The bridge is surrounded by thick vegetation, making for a nice transition from the first part of the route, which traveled alongside West Bernardo Drive with the noise of the freeway in the background.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
Within 24 hours of being sworn in at the White House surrounded by family on Wednesday, Mullin had rolled up his sleeves and begun undoing the unprecedented regulations that Noem and her cohort, Corey Lewandowski, had imposed across the department.
—Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2026
Dancers surrounded each set of wheels, and the show forced the game to start 20 minutes later than expected.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2026
Coming into March Madness, much of the conversation around TCU women’s basketball surrounded the dynamic duo of Olivia Miles and Marta Suárez.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2026
Like most of the others, Rodríguez had never set foot in Mexico and had never heard of this city of a million people surrounded by dense jungle.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surrounded
Verb
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Instead of forming a concentric pattern around Katmai, the ash encircled Novarupta.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Just beyond this mess, a chain-link fence encircled the site of the lodge.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The suspect then circled and drove directly at another officer, the report states.—
S.E. Jenkins,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The Ducks circled the wagons to win 6-5 in a bonus frame.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Council’s definition of at risk of eviction encompassed anyone who had gotten a demand letter from their landlord, a first step in an often months- or years-long process towards eviction.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
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The 2023-2024 El Niño, which encompassed the summer of 2023, was one of the top five strongest warming episodes on record, according to The Weather Channel.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
About 30 Nike missile bases ringed the Chicago area.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
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It’s all housed in a spare modern building designed by Kengo Kuma and ringed by an expansive Japanese landscape garden where visitors are invited to stroll.—
Jessica Kozuka,
Travel + Leisure,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But Stavros believes ownership could spread to multiples of that number if America once again embraced an instrument called the ESOP, for Employee Stock Ownership Plan.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Vogue’s Favorite Wedge Mules Street style has already embraced the shoe, where fashion insiders in Paris and Milan paired both classic black leather options and pop of red styles with skirts and mini dresses for subtle lift.—
María Munsuri,
Vogue,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surrounded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surrounded. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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