Meanings
present singular third person borders on · participle present bordering on · participle past bordered on · past bordered on
- transitiveTo share a border with.
The town borders on the forest, so there are often deer on the road.
- figurativelytransitiveTo be almost like some other thing; to verge on.
His behaviour borders on insanity.
1 more example
If Moldova harboured even the slightest hopes of pulling off a comeback that would have bordered on miraculous given their lack of quality, they were snuffed out 13 minutes before the break when Oxlade-Chamberlain picked his way through midfield before releasing Defoe for a finish that should have been dealt with more convincingly by Namasco at his near post.
2012 September 7, Phil McNulty, “Moldova 0-5 England”, in BBC Sport
Synonyms & antonyms
verbcome near or verge on, resemble, come nearer in quality, or character
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Dutch grenzen aan
- grenzen aanbe almost like some other thing
Finnish lähestyä, hipoa
- lähestyäbe almost like some other thing
- hipoabe almost like some other thing
German an grenzen (etwas)
- an grenzen (etwas)be almost like some other thing
Italian rasentare, essere al limite di
- rasentarebe almost like some other thing
- essere al limite dibe almost like some other thing
Portuguese beirar
- beirarbe almost like some other thing
Russian грани́чить с, находиться на грани
- грани́чить с (graníčitʹ s)be almost like some other thing
- находиться на грани (naxoditʹsja na grani)be almost like some other thing
Swedish gränsa till
- gränsa tillbe almost like some other thing
Cite this entry
border on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/border%20on
“border on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/border%20on. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “border on,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/border%20on.
Source: border on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.