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enclose

/ɛnˈkloʊz/

/ɛnˈkləʊz/

Other forms: enclosed; enclosing; encloses

To enclose something is to surround it or cover it up. An envelope encloses a letter.

To enclose is to put something inside something else. A crowd of people could enclose a celebrity, or a wall might enclose a garden. In Edgar Allan Poe’s story “Masque of the Red Death,” the Prince encloses his party guests inside the castle walls (along with the Red Death). (Oops!) A box might enclose a present. If you enclose something with a letter, you’re putting it in the envelope, too.

Definitions of enclose
  1. verb
    surround completely
    “Darkness enclosed him”
    synonyms: close in, inclose, shut in
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    types:
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    insert, tuck
    fit snugly into
    wall in, wall up
    enclose with a wall
    bower, embower
    enclose in a bower
    enshrine, shrine
    enclose in a shrine
    case, encase, incase
    enclose in, or as if in, a case
    bury, eat up, immerse, swallow, swallow up
    enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing
    border, frame, frame in
    enclose in or as if in a frame
    glass, glass in
    enclose with glass
    bank
    enclose with a bank
    dike, dyke
    enclose with a dike
    encapsulate
    enclose in a capsule or other small container
    fence, fence in
    enclose with a fence
    cordon off, rope in, rope off
    divide by means of a rope
    casket
    enclose in a casket
    corral
    enclose in a corral
    fort, fortify
    enclose by or as if by a fortification
    hedge, hedge in
    enclose or bound in with or as it with a hedge or hedges
    brick in, brick over, brick up
    wall up with brick
    pack
    arrange in a container
    box, package
    put into a box
    sack
    put in a sack
    crate
    put into a crate; as for protection
    trench
    fortify by surrounding with trenches
    embattle
    fortify by furnishing with battlements for defense
    type of:
    border, environ, ring, skirt, surround
    extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle
  2. verb
    close in
    synonyms: confine, hold in
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    types:
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    border, bound
    form the boundary of; be contiguous to
    embank
    enclose with banks, as for support or protection
    rail, rail in
    enclose with rails
    box in, box up
    enclose or confine as if in a box
    frame
    enclose in a frame, as of a picture
    skirt
    form the edge of
    verge
    border on; come close to
    shore
    serve as a shore to
    type of:
    bear, carry, contain, hold
    contain or hold; have within
  3. verb
    enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
    synonyms: enfold, envelop, enwrap, wrap
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    benight
    envelop with social, intellectual, or moral darkness
    tube
    place or enclose in a tube
    capsulate, capsule, capsulise, capsulize
    enclose in a capsule
    engulf
    flow over or cover completely
    sheathe
    enclose with a sheath
    cocoon
    wrap in or as if in a cocoon, as for protection
    bathe
    suffuse with or as if with light
    cover, enshroud, hide, shroud
    cover as if with a shroud
    type of:
    cover
    provide with a covering or cause to be covered
  4. verb
    introduce
    synonyms: inclose, insert, introduce, put in, stick in
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    plug
    insert as a plug
    plug
    insert a plug into
    inoculate
    introduce a microorganism into
    inset
    set or place in
    glass
    put in a glass container
    catheterise, catheterize
    insert a catheter into (a body part)
    cup
    put into a cup
    interlard, intersperse
    introduce one's writing or speech with certain expressions
    feed, feed in
    introduce continuously
    slip
    insert inconspicuously or quickly or quietly
    foist
    insert surreptitiously or without warrant
    inject, shoot
    force or drive (a fluid or gas) into by piercing
    seed
    inoculate with microorganisms
    interleave
    intersperse alternately, as of protective covers for book illustrations
    type of:
    lay, place, pose, position, put, set
    put into a certain place or abstract location
Pronunciation
US

/ɛnˈkloʊz/

UK

/ɛnˈkləʊz/

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