to mark the boundary
1
3.9
- phrasal verb
:
delimitar
- It marks the boundary between two rival families of lions.
- mark the boundary between two
Examples
-
A planter marked the boundaries of plots with poles and claimed the oysters within were his.
Academic text (1990) -
The high-altitude jet stream occupies an atmospheric region called the turbopause, which lies roughly sixty miles above the Earth's surface and marks the boundary between the well-mixed lower atmosphere and the heterogeneous upper atmosphere.
Blog text (32) -
And this marks the boundary of his territory.
-
An old stone wall marks the boundary of the garden of my sister's house.
Blog text (29) -
The Ogeechee River marked the boundary between the two peoples.
Academic text (2014) -
This is a deep sea core off of the Florida coast and it marks the boundary between the Cretaceous and the Tertiary.
-
Sometimes it is the site of the Rio Grande that marks the boundary between uncertain hope and despair.
-
The clay, 65 million years old and scattered around the globe, marks the boundary between two geological periods: the dinosaur age and the reign of the mammals.
Academic text (1992) -
Bibi was looking not at the pale blur that was her son, but at the horizon, at the tall chain-link fence that marked the boundary between playground and park—this side for children, the other for grass.
Fiction book (2000) -
The giant Yalu River marks the boundary between North Korea and China.
Synonyms
10
6.7
To set a clear limit that must not be crossed
8
3.8
Set a clear limit on what is acceptable
4
4.0
Show the edges of an area, for example with string or chalk
4
7.9
To mark the border between two areas with a line or fence
2
7.0
To draw the shape or edge of something clearly
1
7.0
To mark the edges of an area or idea
1
3.4
To draw lines or put tape to show the edge of an area
To show the limits of something, for example an area or duties
Set or mark the limits of an area like a project
To make a clear line between two areas or kinds of activity
Antonyms
How Defined
12
3.1
4
7.9
1
3.9
297
1.9
434
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'indicate the dividing line or limit' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'mark' (to label or indicate) with 'boundary' (a line or limit); the definite article 'the' does not alter compositional meaning. This is a straightforward compositional phrase following common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Mark the boundary comes from the simple act of putting a stone, post, or fence to show where one piece of land ends and another begins, and the action of mark points to the line called the boundary. So, it means 'to show the dividing line or limit between two areas'.