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border - 7 dictionary results
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bor⋅der

  [bawr-der]
Use border in a Sentence
–noun
1. the part or edge of a surface or area that forms its outer boundary.
2. the line that separates one country, state, province, etc., from another; frontier line: You cannot cross the border without a visa.
3. the district or region that lies along the boundary line of another.
4. the frontier of civilization.
5. the border,
a. the border between the U.S. and Mexico, esp. along the Rio Grande.
b. (in the British Isles) the region along the boundary between England and Scotland.
6. brink; verge.
7. an ornamental strip or design around the edge of a printed page, a drawing, etc.
8. an ornamental design or piece of ornamental trimming around the edge of a fabric, rug, garment, article of furniture, etc.
9. Horticulture.
a. a long, narrow bed planted with flowers, shrubs, or trees.
b. a strip of ground in which plants are grown, enclosing an area in a garden or running along the edge of a walk or driveway.
c. the plants growing in such a strip: a border of tulips along the path.
10. Theater.
a. a narrow curtain or strip of painted canvas hung above the stage, masking the flies and lighting units, and forming the top of the stage set.
b. border light.
–verb (used with object)
11. to make a border around; adorn with a border.
12. to form a border or boundary to.
13. to lie on the border of; adjoin.
–verb (used without object)
14. to form or constitute a border; be next to: California borders on the Pacific Ocean.
15. to approach closely in character; verge: The situation borders on tragedy.
Origin:
1325–75; ME bordure < AF, OF, equiv. to bord(er) to border (deriv. of bord ship's side, edge < Gmc; see board ) + -ure -ure

Related forms:
bordered, adjective
bor⋅der⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
1. rim, periphery, verge. See edge. 2. See boundary.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bor·der   (bôr'dər)   
n.  
  1. A part that forms the outer edge of something.
  2. A decorative strip around the edge of something, such as fabric.
  3. A strip of ground, as at the edge of a garden or walk, in which ornamental plants or shrubs are planted.
  4. The line or frontier area separating political divisions or geographic regions; a boundary.
v.   bor·dered, bor·der·ing, bor·ders

v.   tr.
  1. To put a border on.
  2. To lie along or adjacent to the border of: Canada borders the United States.
v.   intr.
  1. To lie adjacent to another: The United States borders on Canada.
  2. To be almost like another in character: an act that borders on heroism.

[Middle English bordure, from Old French bordeure, from border, to border, from bort, border, of Germanic origin.]
bor'der·er n.
Synonyms: These nouns refer to the line or narrow area that marks the outside limit of something such as a surface. Border refers either to the boundary line (a fence along the border of the property) or to the area immediately inside (a frame with a wide border). Margin is a border of more or less precisely definable width: the margin of the page.
Edge refers to the bounding line formed by the continuous convergence of two surfaces: sat on the edge of the chair.
Verge is an extreme terminating line or edge: the sun's afterglow on the verge of the horizon.
Figuratively it indicates a point at which something is likely to begin or to happen: an explorer on the verge of a great discovery.
Brink denotes the edge of a steep place: stood on the brink of the cliff.
In an extended sense it indicates the likelihood or imminence of a sudden change: on the brink of falling in love.
Rim most often denotes the edge of something circular or curved: a crack in the rim of the lens.
Brim applies to the upper edge or inner side of the rim of something shaped like a basin: lava issuing from the brim of the crater.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Border

Bor"der\, n. [OE. bordure, F. bordure, fr. border to border, fr. bord a border; of German origin; cf. MHG. borte border, trimming, G. borte trimming, ribbon; akin to E. board in sense 8. See Board, n., and cf. Bordure.]

1. The outer part or edge of anything, as of a garment, a garden, etc.; margin; verge; brink.

Upon the borders of these solitudes. --Bentham.

In the borders of death. --Barrow.

2. A boundary; a frontier of a state or of the settled part of a country; a frontier district.

3. A strip or stripe arranged along or near the edge of something, as an ornament or finish.

4. A narrow flower bed.

Border land, land on the frontiers of two adjoining countries; debatable land; -- often used figuratively; as, the border land of science.

The Border, The Borders, specifically, the frontier districts of Scotland and England which lie adjacent.

Over the border, across the boundary line or frontier.

Syn: Edge; verge; brink; margin; brim; rim; boundary; confine.

Border

Bor"der\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bordered; p. pr. & vb. n. Bordering.]

1. To touch at the edge or boundary; to be contiguous or adjacent; -- with on or upon as, Connecticut borders on Massachusetts.

2. To approach; to come near to; to verge.

Wit which borders upon profaneness deserves to be branded as folly. --Abp. Tillotson.

Border

Bor"der\, v. t. 1. To make a border for; to furnish with a border, as for ornament; as, to border a garment or a garden.

2. To be, or to have, contiguous to; to touch, or be touched, as by a border; to be, or to have, near the limits or boundary; as, the region borders a forest, or is bordered on the north by a forest.

The country is bordered by a broad tract called the "hot region." --Prescott.

Shebah and Raamah . . . border the sea called the Persian gulf. --Sir W. Raleigh.

3. To confine within bounds; to limit. [Obs.]

That nature, which contemns its origin, Can not be bordered certain in itself. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : border
Spanish: borde,
German: der Rand,
Japanese: へり
More Translations »

border 
c.1350, from O.Fr. bordure "seam, edge, border," from Frankish *bord (cf. O.E. bord "side"), from P.Gmc. *bordus "edge," from *borthaz. The geopolitical sense first attested 1535, in Scottish (replacing earlier march), from The Borders, district adjoining the boundary between England and Scotland.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: bor·der
Pronunciation: 'bord-&r
Function: noun
: an outer part or edge —see BRUSH BORDER
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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