circumscribe: Meaning and Definition of

cir•cum•scribe

Pronunciation: (sûr'kum-skrīb", sûr"kum-skrīb'), [key]
— -scribed, -scrib•ing.
  1. to draw a line around; encircle: to circumscribe a city on a map.
  2. to enclose within bounds; limit or confine, esp. narrowly: Her social activities are circumscribed by school regulations.
  3. to mark off; define; delimit: to circumscribe the area of a science.
    1. to draw (a figure) around another figure so as to touch as many points as possible.
    2. (of a figure) to enclose (another figure) in this manner.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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