When you see the word encapsulate, think about trying to put your comic book collection inside one tiny capsule — all of them wouldn't fit, so you'd have to pick out just your favorites or the most valuable ones. Encapsulating means condensing something down into its most important parts, so you just get the gist of it. Cliff's Notes encapsulate longer books. If you tell a friend about your summer vacation, you better encapsulate it or you'll be there for hours.