1
as in to circle
to travel completely around
communication satellites encircling the earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to surround
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 encircle
By the time Francis exited, the crowd might as well have been on top of him, encircling the mound.
—
Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 15 June 2025
As of Wednesday evening, the fire crew successfully encircled the entire perimeter of the fire in control lines.
—Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 26 June 2025
These are classic Quad features have been updated and authentically engineered, and work alongside a larger rotary control for the analog volume stage and is encircled with orange LEDs to show the current volume level.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
The second bomb erupted in the sand nearby, encircling him in smoke.
—Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 15 June 2025
As of Wednesday evening, the fire crew successfully encircled the entire perimeter of the fire in control lines.
—Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 26 June 2025
These are classic Quad features have been updated and authentically engineered, and work alongside a larger rotary control for the analog volume stage and is encircled with orange LEDs to show the current volume level.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
The second bomb erupted in the sand nearby, encircling him in smoke.
—Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for encircle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for encircle
Verb
-
The recorded flight path shows the aircraft circled a few times before landing.—
Colson Thayer,
People.com,
14 July 2025
-
The plane returned less than an hour after takeoff, circling twice before landing back at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
13 July 2025
Verb
-
Stephanie, the boys’ mom and Todd Sr.’s wife, is surrounded by baseball.—
Ronald Blum,
Baltimore Sun,
15 July 2025
-
The town is home to 35 different accommodations sprinkled along oceanfront El Mar Drive and its surrounding streets.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
15 July 2025
Verb
-
The scene was more amusing than threatening — onlookers whipped out cell phone cameras to document the sight of horses traversing the grounds.—
Jim Newton,
Mercury News,
12 July 2025
-
Created by the brand’s in-house team, the campaign features Zhao traversing the great outdoors, lush mountains, and cityscapes, eventually fleeing to the moon, all rendered via cutout paper collages.—
Denni Hu,
Footwear News,
9 July 2025
Verb
-
The moon orbits Earth in a slight ellipse, so a full moon can sometimes be slightly closer than usual — a supermoon.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
-
The New Horizons mission — which famously flew by Pluto in 2015 and is now studying the outer solar system — would also be cancelled, along with Juno, the probe that has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Encircle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/encircle. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share