girdling

verb

present participle of girdle
1
as in wrapping
to encircle or bind with or as if with a belt trees girdled the campus, essentially hiding it from view wire girdling the bundle of firewood

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in circling
to travel completely around an asteroid belt that girdles the inner planets of the solar system

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in surrounding
to form a circle around the rings that famously girdle the planet Saturn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of girdling Also, the rootball should be inspected for circling or girdling roots. — Larry Figart, Florida Times-Union, 14 Jan. 2026 Removing this layer restricts the tree from moving water up from the roots or nutrients back down, a process known as girdling. — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Nov. 2025 The new levee begins at the city of San Mateo’s border and runs below the San Mateo Bridge before girdling the city’s borders. — John King, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for girdling
  1. wrapping
  2. circling
  3. surrounding
  4. traversing
  5. encircling
  6. orbiting
Verb
  • Two skinny straps crossed the toes, while another ran diagonally over the instep and met a narrow strap just below the ankle before wrapping around the heel.
    — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 30 July 2026
  • This involves folding gauze multiple times, placing it directly over the specific point of bleeding, and wrapping it tightly.
    — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of wrapping
Verb
  • Any brand watching the next mega‑event after this FIFA World Cup should assume there’s a second economy circling the core spectacle and design for it on purpose.
    — Lilian Raji, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • The pilots in the Delta Boeing 737 saw the potential collision and aborted their landing, eventually circling the airport before safely touching down.
    — Aaron Cooper, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
Definition of circling
Verb
  • The first question that comes to mind surrounding the Dolphins deals with quarterback Malik Willis.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 25 July 2026
  • Secret Service officials said attendees will face airport-style screening, fewer access points, and restricted surrounding streets.
    — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 24 July 2026
Definition of surrounding
Verb
  • But that low ride height is going to make any actual trail traversing pretty challenging.
    — Andrew P. Collins, The Drive, 22 July 2026
  • Using a monolithic design eliminates the latency penalties associated with traversing multiple chiplets, while simultaneously delivering roughly three times greater core-to-core bandwidth.
    — Marco Chiappetta, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of traversing
Verb
  • Champions Nigeria enter with 10 stars encircling the crest on their jerseys, having won 10 of the previous 13 WAFCONs, and looking to add an 11th.
    — Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 26 July 2026
  • The stone is halo-set on a pavé band—jewelry lingo for having a ring of small white diamonds encircling the stone and covering the band.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 21 July 2026
Definition of encircling
Verb
  • Since January 2025, a portion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been orbiting high above Earth, taking 26 days to complete one trip around the planet.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 30 July 2026
  • When two galaxies merge, their black holes typically form a binary pair, orbiting each other at the center of the single postmerger galaxy.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 29 July 2026
Definition of orbiting

Browse Nearby Words

girdles
girdling
girds
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Girdling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/girdling. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on girdling

Nglish: Translation of girdling for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of spindrift

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All