encircle

Encircle is a verb that means to form a circle around something or to surround it on all sides. It can be literal, as when a wall or fence encircles a city, or figurative, as in encircling a problem with fences of precaution or encircling a crowd with observers. The action is transitive, typically taking a direct object such as an area, object, or person. In many contexts, encircling implies a deliberate or enclosing act that creates a boundary or perimeter around what is inside.

The word comes from the prefix en- meaning “to cause to be” or “to put into a specified state,” combined with circle, which itself traces to Latin circulus. The sense evolved toward surrounding with a circular boundary. Encircle is closely related to synonyms such as surround, enclose, and gird, and it is often preferred when a circular boundary is emphasized.

Usage notes and examples: In military or security writing, to encircle a target means to gain a surrounding position that isolates it. In geography or urban planning, a ring road or defensive wall can encircle a town. In everyday language, you might say a decorative border encircles the edge of a coin or a label encircles a symbol in a diagram. Avoid the tautology encircle around, which is generally considered redundant.