border

The word “border” means the line separating two countries, states, or regions. In plain terms, the dividing line between two places, the edge of something, or (as a verb) to be right next to or almost like something.

“Border” is pronounced BAW-duh (/ˈbɔɹ.dɚ/ in IPA).

Here is “border” used in a sentence: “They crossed the border into Canada just before sunset.”

Depending on how it is used, “border” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “border” comes from Old French. From Old French "bordeure," of Germanic origin, related to the word "board" in the sense of an edge or rim.

“Border” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Border” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the line separating two countries, states, or regions.

A boundary is any line that marks where one area ends and another begins, from a garden fence to a property line. A border is a specific kind of boundary, usually the political line between countries, states, or regions, often marked and controlled. Every border is a boundary, but not every boundary is a border.

A border is the precise line dividing two territories. A frontier is the wider region along that line, or historically the edge of settled land beyond which lies unexplored or unclaimed territory. So you cross a border at a single point, but a frontier is a broader zone rather than a fixed line.

The line between the United States and Mexico is a border, as is the one dividing France and Spain. Borders can follow natural features like rivers and mountains or be drawn as straight surveyed lines. Many are marked by checkpoints where travel and trade between the two sides are controlled.