Meanings
present singular third person encloses · participle present enclosing · participle past enclosed · past enclosed · alternative archaic inclose
- transitiveTo surround with a wall, fence, etc.
to enclose lands
2 more examples
When members of this clan come upon the tracks of a tiger, they must, as a mark of homage, enclose them with three little sticks.
1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament, volume 1, page 35The creative commons of the internet has been gradually and inexorably enclosed, much as agricultural land was by parliamentary acts from 1600 onwards in England.
2024 May 4, John Naughton, “The internet is in decline – it needs rewilding”, in The GuardianSynonyms: incastellate, encastellate, fortify
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo surround with a wall, fence, etc.
More synonyms by meaning
verbenclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering
verbplace, fit, or thrust (something) into another thing
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*kleh₂u-“key, hook, nail”
- Latininclūdō
- Vulgar Latin*inclaudō, *inclaudere
- Old Frenchenclose
- Middle Englishenclos
- Middle Englishenclosen
- Englishenclose
From Middle English enclosen, inclosen, from Middle English enclos, from Old French enclose, feminine plural past participle of enclore, from Vulgar Latin *inclaudō, *inclaudere, from Latin inclūdō (doublet of include), from in- (“in”) + claudō (“to shut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- (“key, hook, nail”). Equivalent to en- + close.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Vulgar Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek περιέχω
- περιέχω (periékhō)surround, fence in
Bulgarian заграждам, обграждам
- заграждам (zagraždam)surround, fence in
- обграждам (obgraždam)surround, fence in
- прилагам (prilagam)insert
Chinese Mandarin 围绕, 包围
- 围绕surround, fence in
- 包围 (bāowéi)surround, fence in
Czech uzavřít
- uzavřítsurround, fence in
Danish vedlægge, tilføje
- vedlæggeinsert
- tilføjeinsert
Dutch omheinen, bijvoegen
- omheinensurround, fence in
- bijvoegeninsert
- insluiteninsert
Esperanto almeti
- almetiinsert
Estonian ümbritsema
- ümbritsemasurround, fence in
Finnish ympäröidä, aidata
- ympäröidäsurround, fence in
- aidatasurround, fence in
- paketoidainsert
- kääriäinsert
- purkittaainsert
- laittaa mukaaninsert
- sisällyttääinsert
German beifügen, einschliessen
- beifügeninsert
- einschliesseninsert
Hebrew צרף
- צרףinsert
Hungarian elkerít, bekerít
- elkerítsurround, fence in
- bekerítsurround, fence in
- csatolinsert
Irish crioslaigh, fálaigh
- crioslaighsurround, fence in
- fálaighsurround, fence in
- timpeallaighsurround, fence in
- cuir faoi iamhinsert
Italian cintare
- cintaresurround, fence in
Latin saepiō, arceō
- saepiōsurround, fence in
- arceōsurround, fence in
- circumdōsurround, fence in
Māori taiepa, meri
- taiepasurround, fence in
- merisurround, fence in
- tāepasurround, fence in
- ponitakasurround, fence in
- kōpakiinsert
Norwegian vedlegge, tilføye
- vedleggeinsert
- tilføyeinsert
Norwegian Bokmål innfatte, omslutte
- innfattesurround, fence in
- omsluttesurround, fence in
Portuguese cercar, colocar
- cercarsurround, fence in
- colocarinsert
Russian огражда́ть, огради́ть
- огражда́ть (ograždátʹ)surround, fence in
- огради́ть (ogradítʹ)surround, fence in
- загражда́ть (zagraždátʹ)surround, fence in
- загради́ть (zagradítʹ)surround, fence in
- прилага́ть (prilagátʹ)insert
- приложи́ть (priložítʹ)insert
- вкла́дывать (vkládyvatʹ)insert
- вложи́ть (vložítʹ)insert
Scottish Gaelic cuairtich
- cuairtichsurround, fence in
Swedish innesluta, omringa
- inneslutasurround, fence in
- omringasurround, fence in
- inhägnasurround, fence in
- bifogainsert
- inneslutainsert
- tillfogainsert
Thai ปิด
- ปิด (bpìt)surround, fence in
Ukrainian оточувати, обмежувати
- оточувати (otočuvaty)surround, fence in
- обмежувати (obmežuvaty)surround, fence in
- вкладати (vkladaty)insert
- укладати (ukladaty)insert
Vietnamese bao vây
- bao vâysurround, fence in
Welsh amgáu, amgáu
- amgáusurround, fence in
- amgáuinsert
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with enclose
Cite this entry
enclose. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enclose
“enclose.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enclose. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enclose,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enclose.
Source: enclose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.