encircle
verb /ɪnˈsɜːkl/
/ɪnˈsɜːrkl/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they encircle | /ɪnˈsɜːkl/ /ɪnˈsɜːrkl/ |
| he / she / it encircles | /ɪnˈsɜːklz/ /ɪnˈsɜːrklz/ |
| past simple encircled | /ɪnˈsɜːkld/ /ɪnˈsɜːrkld/ |
| past participle encircled | /ɪnˈsɜːkld/ /ɪnˈsɜːrkld/ |
| -ing form encircling | /ɪnˈsɜːklɪŋ/ /ɪnˈsɜːrklɪŋ/ |
- encircle somebody/something to surround somebody/something completely in a circle
- Jack's arms encircled her waist.
- The island is encircled by a coral reef.
- Snow covered the encircling hills.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryEncircle is used with these nouns as the object:- waist
- wrist
Word Originlate 16th cent. (formerly also as incircle): from en-, in- ‘within’ + circle.