encompass
en·com·pass/ɪnˈkʌmpəs/verb
encompass is spelled E-N-C-O-M-P-A-S-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables (en·com·pass). It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, encompass means “To form a circle around; to encircle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in encompass?
| Letters | 9: E-N-C-O-M-P-A-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: en·com·pass |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,356th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is encompass?
Encompass appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce encompass?
- UK /ɪnˈkʌmpəs/
- UK /ən-/
- US /ɪnˈkʌmpəs/
Encompass has 3 syllables, split en·com·pass in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-encompass.ogg, En-au-encompass.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of encompass
- encompasses present, singular, he/she/it
- encompassing participle, present
- encompassed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does encompass mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To form a circle around; to encircle.
- 2
To include within its scope; to circumscribe or go round so as to surround; to enclose; to contain.
- 3
To include completely; to describe fully or comprehensively.
This book on English grammar encompasses all irregular verbs.
- 4
To go around, especially, to circumnavigate.
Drake encompassed the globe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Encompass in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | encercler , entourer , englober, inclure, comprendre, renfermer |
| German | umschließen, umgeben, umfassen , enthalten, einschließen |
| Portuguese | cercar, circundar , rodear, conter , compreender |
| Spanish | circundar , rodear , abarcar, englobar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does encompass come from?
From Middle English encompassen. By surface analysis, en- + compass.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).