tr.v., -closed, also -closed, -clos·ing, -clos·ing, -clos·es, -clos·es.
- To surround on all sides; close in.
- To fence in so as to prevent common use: enclosed the pasture.
- To contain, especially so as to envelop or shelter: "Every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret" (Charles Dickens).
- To insert into the same envelope or package: enclose a check with the order.
[Middle English enclosen, from Old French enclos, past participle of enclore, from Latin inclūdere, to enclose. See include.]
SYNONYMS enclose, cage, coop, fence, hem, pen, wall. These verbs mean to surround and confine within a limited area: cattle enclosed in feedlots; was caged in the office all afternoon; was cooped up in a studio apartment; a garden fenced in by shrubbery; a battalion hemmed in by enemy troops; ships penned up in the harbor; prisoners who were walled in.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
