Meaning of border in English:

border

Pronunciation /ˈbɔːdə/

See synonyms for border

Translate border into Spanish

noun

1A line separating two countries, administrative divisions, or other areas.
‘Panama's western border with Costa Rica’
- ‘border controls’
- ‘In areas close to the border with the Northern of Ireland, smuggling became a way of life for some.’
- ‘They are patrolling areas near the border with Saudi Arabia and training local police forces.’
- ‘Control at the border with Romania will be tightened after reports that pigs were being smuggled to be sold in Bulgaria.’
- ‘Yet a troubling increase has come by way of the Black Sea, which borders Bulgaria on the East, and the Danube River, which forms its northern border with Romania.’
- ‘Sealing the border with Northern Ireland was a daunting task.’
- ‘Argentina lives and breathes football, from the northern border with Bolivia down to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego.’
- ‘Hotels close to the border with Northern Ireland say wedding party bookings have been lost as parties head north.’
- ‘US forces do not use bases in Tajikistan, which shares a long border with northern Afghanistan.’
- ‘I notice, for example, that the eastern-most boundary of the lake comes very close to the border with the Northern Territory.’
- ‘Coal, tangerines and tobacco are exported again, and goods—including black market petrol—come in across the northern border with Russia.’
- ‘Two large towns have strong links to towns across the border with Northern Ireland.’
- ‘Troupes of performers also wandered and performed in all the provinces, from those on the northern border with China down to the center of Vietnam.’
- ‘Japan, however, says the drilling is to take place in an area east of what Tokyo says is its sea border with China, and that lifting the ban on exploration is actually a response to Chinese exploration.’
- ‘One of the oldest cities in the world, Varanasi is located in the upper east area of India and is not far from the border with Nepal.’
- ‘He was arrested on Christmas Eve in an area of Pakistan close to the border with Afghanistan.’
- ‘Lauca is isolated in northern Chile, just inside the border with Bolivia.’
- ‘Extra police officers are being posted at polling booths and on patrol duties, and France has tightened controls along its border with Spain.’
- ‘It shares a border with the state of Zacatecas and covers an area of more than 700 square kilometers.’
- ‘As the strait shares a border with Malaysia, Malaysian authorities have stepped up patrols and had captured two groups of pirates operating along the straits.’
frontier, boundary, partition, borderline, dividing line, bounding line, perimeter
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1. 1.1A district near the border between two areas.
  ‘a refugee camp on the border’
  ‘Families line up at a refugee camp near Bahai on the border between Chad and Sudan.’
  ‘We lived in a shabby hut at the foot of a steep mountain on the border of Manchuria near the Yalu River.’
  ‘About 100,000 Baptists and other refugees occupy a small plot of land on the border of Burma and Thailand, near the Thai city of Maesot.’
  ‘The picturesque and historic village of Attanagh is located near Durrow on the border with Kilkenny.’
  ‘Yet the ceremony, which signified the peaceful transfer of control from Nigeria to Cameroon of this one village nestled on the border, was truly remarkable.’
  ‘My good friend Johnny, living as he does on the border of both counties, is so blessed but somehow or other I feel our little bet on the outcome will help to dampen his spirits when the final whistle blows.’
  ‘It's set at a refugee camp on the border of Turkey and Iraq, where hordes of parentless children earn money clearing land mines.’
  ‘Zubeida Malik reports from Jalozai refugee camp on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.’
  ‘As Clonaslee is on the border of the county and there is no public transport serving it or the villages on route to towns it is seen as a starting point for transport.’
  ‘There are vast stretches of land on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan that don't have roads.’
  ‘Meanwhile, Eliza is taken to a Quaker settlement on the border of the slave states where she meets up with George, her husband.’
  ‘There was no one else to see us off; Myren and her children had already made it safely to one of the K'ymaeli villages on the border.’
  ‘A certain confusion arises with artists living in cities on the border between the two parts of the Netherlands as to whether they form part of Dutch or Flemish art.’
  ‘Nevertheless, this town situated on the border between former slave and free states became the nation's chief site for remembering the Civil War.’
  ‘Interfax also reported that four Russian soldiers were killed and two injured in a helicopter crash on the border of Chechnya and the neighbouring Russian region of Dagestan.’
  ‘Until then, these vehicles had been waiting in the so-called No Man's Land, the strip of land on the border between Iraq and Jordan.’
  ‘A large number had to flee from their villages due to shelling on the border.’
  ‘In 1991, he worked in an Iranian hospital on the border of Iran and Iraq, assisting refugees.’
  ‘All the time now, the conflict spills over into our territory because much of the border with us is controlled by the guerrillas.’
  surroundings, surrounding area, vicinity
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2. 1.2the BorderThe boundary and adjoining districts between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
3. 1.3the Border or the BordersThe boundary and adjoining districts between Scotland and England.
2The edge or boundary of something, or the part near it.
‘the northern border of their distribution area’
- ‘the unknown regions at the borders of physics and electronics’
- ‘The borders and limits of his language are self-imposed and they demonstrate the futility of speech as being truly inarticulate to the imprisoned passion of their leading characters.’
- ‘They experience pain, transgress borders and limits, and come into existence in situations that are stimulated by pain.’
- ‘I've learned that there are no borders and no limits to this ocean of love I feel for them.’
- ‘The atmosphere and climate are not limited by human borders, so transportation isn't just a local, regional or even a national issue.’
- ‘Travel and study abroad have also taught the young that borders should not be limits to opportunities.’
- ‘Writers have, or should have, no borders limiting their spaces and creations.’
- ‘Valenzuela's protagonist must cross a limit, a border, which the man who always says ‘I write you’ has drawn.’
- ‘But any phenomenon in nature, however grand, great, shocking, dark, and terrifying, would have limits and borders.’
- ‘Baez complemented Morricone's main theme in such a way that it has transcended the borders of film music and has become an immortal ballad for freedom and liberty for all.’
- ‘The autobiographical documentary which stands on the border of truth and fiction, actuality and falsehood is a gesture of significant courage.’
- ‘For a while it denoted an attempt to erase the border between fact and fiction, between the natural and the supernatural.’
- ‘In the novel, a decent man, having made a "devil's bargain," finds himself on that precarious border between personal love and social responsibility.’
- ‘It also calls forth the border between men and women, between women and women (with class as allegorical emphasis), and between the United States and Mexico.’
- ‘The lecturer to open the sessions was a renowned Shakespeare specialist who explored the role of student-actors and teacher-directors that extends the border of the traditional classroom.’
- ‘Through this series, we hope to provide an alternative perspective on forces, ideas, and facts that are beyond the border of our common experience.’
- ‘The modifications take Schank beyond the border of theory and basic research and into the territory of educational application.’
- ‘But now that the borders between online and offline zones is blurring, the borders between work and personal time seem to be slipping too.’
- ‘In Norway the public broadcaster is a forerunner in blurring the borders between traditional broadcast media and mobile media.’
- ‘It is not the fear of overcoming the borders of the biological and defined world that scares me.’
- ‘Both shared an interest in phonology (the studio's name was no coincidence), and both dreamed of overcoming the borders between art and life.’
3A decorative strip around the edge of something.
‘she stitched a border on to one of the plain white saris’
- ‘The levels of pattern and pen-flourishing in vivid inks, glowing ornamentation, decorative letters, borders, jewelled frames and vignettes made me gasp.’
- ‘An arrow passes close to the artist's head, which is adorned with antlers, and birds attack, having broken a decorative border of colored paper chains.’
- ‘The border was decorated with a variety of white sea-shells.’
- ‘Welch used a combination of blackleaf and English scroll with gold borders and accents to decorate the bottom metal and triggerguard.’
- ‘Using strands, strips and balls of clay, create a decorative border around the crackled clay.’
- ‘The Princess' gown was satin lined and trimmed with decorative borders, custom of her status, and high heel black shoes that laced up her legs with thin matching cord and clasp.’
- ‘Parents can attach pictures or personalize the note with a decorative border.’
- ‘Margery's particular study has been of the finely twined decorative borders known as taniko, a technique which appears to be unique to the Maori.’
- ‘A vignette is a sketch (it comes from the French for vine—a decorative border running up a page) or a little moment, but something that doesn't add up to a story.’
- ‘Giant elephants and temple gopurams decorated the border and a ‘thalapu’ was adorned with a chariot carrying the Shiva Linga.’
- ‘I'm going to make a page in my fledgling illustrated journal: a black border decorated with dead and wounded appliances.’
- ‘There was some mixing of motifs, especially with the Oriental decoration, so that Chinese borders appear on objects decorated in the Japanese manner.’
- ‘Marlowe's poem is like the fantastical and varied grotesques that decorate the borders of a painting composed according to more classical rules of art.’
- ‘The pierced motifs were mechanically cut with a steel punch and the embossed decoration on the borders stamped out with steel dies.’
- ‘It is beautifully decorated with gold inlaid borders.’
- ‘Miniatures are framed in vibrantly colored and patterned decorative borders.’
- ‘Decorative borders are used to articulate the overall design.’
- ‘William cuts up his love letters and lets Paul keeps the decorated borders of paper.’
- ‘Ice the sides with the chocolate icing, then pipe a decorative border of chocolate icing around the top, encircling the coconut topping.’
- ‘As you can see, wall paper borders aren't limited to being put around the top of the walls; you can use them to split a wall at any level you want, creating more interest in the room.’
decoration, trim, ornamentation, adornment, passementerie, embroidery, frou-frou
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1. 3.1A strip of ground along the edge of a lawn or path for planting flowers or shrubs.
  as modifier ‘geraniums are among the best of border perennials’
  ‘Under his direction, they built dry-stone retaining walls and a rock garden, laid out paths and mixed borders and planted flowering shrubs among the trees.’
  ‘In the warm months, it was a garden, with hothouse-grown flowers planted along its borders.’
  ‘Perennials can be planted among shrub borders or in containers.’
  ‘There are a number of shrubs and plants around the borders of the garden.’
  ‘If you're new to gardening, planting a flower border may seem intimidating—a job best left to professionals with lots of experience.’
  ‘I am thinking about taking one row of raspberries away, maybe exchange the other one as well for a newer kind with bigger berries in, so we can have a bit more room for flowers along the allotment border.’
  ‘The awful thing is that they are all perfectly acceptable names for the same old-fashioned and rather modest little half-hardy perennial plant that used to be seen in garden flower borders all over.’
  ‘In other news we have finished digging two flower borders and have planted one up but got some left to do in the shady one.’
  ‘When planting bulbs in flower borders, mark where they are so you don't dig them up later by mistake.’
  ‘Freshen beds and borders planted with spring flowers by lightly forking over the surface.’
  ‘These were well presented with good use of open lawns, well manicured shrubs and flower borders.’
  ‘More upright varieties are handsome in shrub borders or, planted 3 or 4 feet apart, as an informal hedge.’
  ‘Hydrangeas are spectacular grown as single specimens and are fabulous when planted in mixed shrub borders.’
  ‘Plant them in borders, under shrubs, in the eye of a tree, or in grassland and watch them multiply over the years.’
  ‘The maples planted in the grassy border along the street were growing too large for their confinement, their roots buckling the uniform gray slabs of the sidewalk.’
  ‘When we think of shrubs, most of us picture foundation plants or a shrub border.’
  ‘Shrubs, perennials, and grasses pack most of the border between screen plants and the lawn.’
  ‘The 165-foot long back garden is mainly in lawn with extensive borders and flower beds.’
  ‘The grass was exactly level with the white rock-like borders around the edges, that were maybe twenty feet wide.’
  ‘Even back in my days as a horticultural hooligan, I only ever used peat to create a home-made compost for sowing seeds, never for potting plantlets or decorating borders.’
  plot, area, piece, strip, row, lot, tract, parcel
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verb

1with object Form an edge along or beside (something)
‘a pool bordered by palm trees’
- ‘We drive along Gibson Reservoir Road—a route bordered by brown-eyed Susans and the Sun River—past huge, upended slabs that look as if giants had a rock fight.’
- ‘On the edge of the town where I live, running between the Victorian park and the youth hostel and leading to a footbridge crossing the river, is an unassuming lane bordered by hedges.’
- ‘Below that was a path bordered by a bamboo hedge, where I learnt to ride a bicycle.’
- ‘Outside, the 18.5 acres of land are divided into 16 acres of permanent pasture bounded to one side by the river Liffey, and two acres of lawned gardens bordered by pine hedges.’
- ‘It is bordered by hedging, rose beds and mature trees.’
- ‘It was a smallish expanse of grassland bordered by hedges the horses could easily jump if they were so inclined.’
- ‘Behind the towers would be an enclosed courtyard bordered by 17 townhouses.’
- ‘We travel along a man-made section of the canal bordered by bluebells and bright yellow broom.’
- ‘Shaded by two Mediterranean oaks, it is bordered along its edge by a brimming blue-glazed swimming pool that shoots off into the garden.’
- ‘Her house is bordered by vegetation of all types—ixoras, palm trees, cactus line her yard.’
- ‘A large garden bordered by a stud fence surrounds the house.’
- ‘But instead of a grassy playground bordered by tree-lined streets, for use during and after school, the plan now calls for a playground atop a parking garage.’
- ‘Land and Information New Zealand estimates that 30% of the coastline is already inaccessible because it is bordered by privately owned land.’
- ‘In one grouping, each original image appears to be repeated in a three-frame series still bordered by the telltale edging of the 8mm filmstrip.’
- ‘You see the problem is that the residence is bordered by palm orchards and small creeks from every direction, so each time the door or a window is opened, swarms of mosquitoes enter attracted by the lights.’
- ‘The site is bordered by mature trees, and the current owners have also planted a number of young trees which are maturing nicely to complete the sense of rural tranquility and privacy.’
- ‘It was an isolated place with no docks and no homes, centered on a fragile land break bordered by sea, and thus more intimately connected to a wider world.’
- ‘This came out onto the beautiful Palace Green, a square of the greenest grass bordered by the Norman cathedral, the castle and various college buildings.’
- ‘Apparently one cup wasn't cut in the middle of the green, three holes were more than 350 yards, and one fairway was bordered by rough.’
- ‘Our backyard is bordered by trees and is usually pretty soupy in the spring when the snow melts and the rains start.’
surround, enclose, encircle, circle, edge, skirt, fringe, hem, bound, line, flank
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1. 1.1Provide (something) with a decorative edge.
  ‘the walls were bordered with carved scrolls and cornices’
  ‘The driveway was dirt with large rocks bordering it, decorating it a bit.’
  ‘The white picket fences were gone but were replaced with bricks and decorative stones that bordered the colorful flower beds.’
  ‘This wall pattern is then bordered with a lassoed Wild West lacing crafted out of human hair, an element common to her art.’
  ‘For example, on concrete frame buildings with in-filled masonry walls, the frame borders the top, bottom, and sides of the masonry walls.’
  ‘It also includes a patio area which borders the conservatory and provides a perfect spot for outdoor dining.’
  ‘He stopped before a full-length mirror that was set up against one wall, bordering a tall wardrobe.’
  ‘Attractive stone and brick walls border the garden, and it has pedestrian access to Mount Pleasant Avenue.’
  ‘Curves, like waves breaking, had been worked into the sides, accented by the gilt-covered scrolls that bordered the edges.’
  ‘The cuff bracelet in Plate XX is ornamented with chrysanthemums bordering a central faceted citrine and overlapping pinnatifid leaves engraved to delineate the veins.’
  ‘A single set of cutout elements can be securely identified as belonging to a band bordering the bottom edge.’
  ‘You feel as if you're walking on water thanks to a clever ensemble of video footage of waterfalls on the wall and platforms of water at shoulder-level bordering the pathway.’
  ‘The gravelled driveway at the front is bordered by flowerbeds and provides parking for two cars.’
  ‘Trying to be inconspicuous, for reasons unbeknownst to her, she looked past Shamus to the writing all over his walls, trying to read the words bordering them.’
  ‘Red and yellow tulips decorated the porch, while white daffodils bordered the lawn to the walkway.’
  ‘The walls were light blue, and the top was bordered with wallpaper of some blue and green flowery sort.’
  ‘The manuscripts can be taken as beautiful pieces of calligraphy, often illustrated and bordered with decorative motifs, so much so that each folio became a fine piece of art.’
  ‘There was a fireplace against one wall that was bordered with bricks and near it were several comfortable looking seats that surrounded it.’
  ‘The silver stripes bordering the ribbon and the centre stripe are 2 mm wide.’
  ‘The variable widths given in the details under 'Description' depend on how many horizontal stripes bordering the pattern are used.’
  ‘Your flag design looks a bit wrong; the two stripes bordering the bottom part are actually three.’
  edge, fringe, hem
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2(of a country or area) be adjacent to (another country or area)
‘regions bordering Azerbaijan’
- ‘the states bordering on the Black Sea’
- ‘Indonesia has more than 90 small islands in areas bordering neighboring countries.’
- ‘Day one is spent totally over the mountain ridges and tops from which there are spectacular views of the surrounding peaks and lower country bordering Nelson Lakes National Park.’
- ‘Successful conservation efforts in an area bordering another country can be reduced to naught if the neighbouring countries do not collaborate.’
- ‘It's a topic that's becoming more widely discussed and Tandou farm at Menindee is kicking things off with the plan to create a 50,000 hectare conservation area bordering Kinchega National Park.’
- ‘Their grazing areas also border a National Park.’
- ‘Partly through financial aid, partly by the exertion of tremendous pressure, countries bordering the EU have been forced to step up measures against asylum-seekers.’
- ‘Tajikistan is the third former Soviet republic bordering Afghanistan.’
- ‘He also said the report had not included a proper assessment of the visual impact of windfarm developments on areas bordering the highlighted zones.’
- ‘The area borders the Dales and already has one of the highest concentrations of millionaires in the country.’
- ‘Moreover, Afghanistan is a landlocked nation bordering China, Iran and three Central Asian countries.’
- ‘These new coal-fired plants are frequently sited in remote regions that border national parks or other protected wilderness areas.’
- ‘But the treaty obliges countries bordering enclosed or semi-enclosed seas to work together on marine conservation and environmental protection.’
- ‘The study site was located within an old field bordering a recreational park in Ashford, Connecticut, USA.’
- ‘One could object that the countries bordering the Alps are richer and more expensive.’
- ‘Initial infestations tend to occur in fields bordering clover fields or grassy areas.’
- ‘To the north and northwest, the country borders the Sudan, to the south, Ethiopia, and to the southwest, Djibouti.’
- ‘The countries bordering the Baltic Sea, for example, were in the front line during the Cold War.’
- ‘Fish are an essential part of the diet for all the countries bordering the Mekong after it flows out of China.’
- ‘The stalky marshland plants huddle in dense bunches on uncultivated areas bordering South Florida's sugar farms.’
adjoin, abut, abut on, bound on, butt up against, be adjacent to, lie next to, neighbour, be contiguous with, touch, join, connect, meet, reach, extend as far as
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3border onno object Come close to or be developing into (an extreme condition)
‘Sam arrived in a state of excitement bordering on hysteria’
- ‘For them, the settling of scores with the miners developed into an obsession bordering on the deranged.’
- ‘On the other hand, you see this fundamentalism that sort of borders on extremism.’
- ‘His approach bordered on the mechanical, yet he executed a free and extended armswing.’
- ‘He approaches the game with a passion and enthusiasm which can border on the childlike.’
- ‘I think it borders on the fawning, but provides a useful portrait nonetheless.’
- ‘The first half is painfully slow and borders on ridiculous in some parts.’
- ‘The digital video work looks a little rough here and there and the action borders on farce, but Tadpole has plenty of fun and sent me out of the cinema smiling.’
- ‘Quality Control gets points for originality though, and not the kind that borders on gimmick to hold it all together.’
- ‘In the four men, this precision borders on caricature, although Abby comes across with strong humanity.’
- ‘What Johnny Nevin and Johnny Kavanagh have been asked to do, as amateurs, in recent weeks borders on cruelty.’
- ‘In a report that for audacity borders on the incredible, the Premiership damned the FA for the ills that are now besetting the game.’
- ‘The barista announces each one in a ceremonial style that borders on the religious and in a language only fully understood by true initiates.’
- ‘Her behavior borders on the grossly unethical, reporting lie after lie to serve her friends.’
- ‘That aside, though, the language used here borders on kneejerk.’
- ‘Her performance, which is incredibly endearing, borders on the miraculous.’
- ‘This album happens to be progressive, evolving into a unique form of punk that borders on grunge.’
- ‘Its style borders on the eccentric: all heirlooms and portraits of sinister-looking forefathers.’
- ‘But the real problems are a static production and the script, which borders on the theatrically illiterate.’
- ‘Personally, I have a news habit that possibly borders on obsession.’
- ‘What this creates, then, is teacher dominance that borders on dictatorship.’
verge on, approach, come close to, come near to, be near to, be comparable to, approximate to, be tantamount to, be not dissimilar to, be not unlike, be similar to, resemble, look like
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