encompassing
UK/ɪŋˈkʌmpəsɪŋ/
encompassing is the present participle and gerund of encompass.
Meaning of encompass
Verb
encompass (third-person singular simple present encompasses, present participle encompassing, simple past and past participle encompassed)
- To form a circle around; to encircle.
- To include within its scope; to circumscribe or go round so as to surround; to enclose; to contain.
- his piercing inſtruments of ſight:
Whose fiery circles beare encompaſſed
A heauen of heauenly bodies in their Spheares:c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- Synonyms:
- embrace
- his piercing inſtruments of ſight:
- To include completely; to describe fully or comprehensively.
- This book on English grammar encompasses all irregular verbs.
- Synonyms:
- comprehend
- To go around, especially, to circumnavigate.
- Drake encompassed the globe.
Words formed from encompassing
Questions about encompassing
- What is encompassing the present participle and gerund of?
- Encompassing is the present participle and gerund of encompass.
- How do you pronounce encompassing?
- Encompassing is pronounced /ɪŋˈkʌmpəsɪŋ/ (UK).
Words near encompassing in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: encompassing (page history and authors); encompass (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-encompassing.oga.
Cite this entry: “encompassing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/encompassing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.