encapsulation

American  

[en-kap-suh-ley-shuhn, -syoo-] / ɛnˌkæp səˈleɪ ʃən, -syʊ- /

noun

1. the act or process of placing or containing something within or as if within a capsule.

   Abatement of lead contamination includes strategies such as paint removal and encapsulation, or permanently covering the contaminated soil.

   This software protocol is used for encapsulation of various higher-level protocols.

2. the act or process of summarizing or condensing information.

   Like a headline writer, I was looking for a brief encapsulation of certain salient facts.

---

Etymology

Origin of encapsulation

encapsul(ate) ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Example Sentences

The result is more of a strung-out patchwork than a theatrical encapsulation of Prokofiev’s 3-act, more than 2-hour score.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

“On the Morning After the Sixties” is a beautiful encapsulation of her aesthetic and point of view in a very brief format.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

Reggaeton is the perfect encapsulation of how real artists embrace difference, drawing inspiration from diversity that exposes them to sounds, visions and ideas they’ve never experienced before.

From Salon • Oct. 15, 2025

For a few minutes on Sunday afternoon, Wimbledon's Centre Court became the perfect encapsulation of the current tensions between humans and machines.

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2025

Cysts formed by an outpouring of blood and lymph into the tissue spaces with subsequent encapsulation of the fluid Extravasation cysts.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry