Meaning of circle in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Definitions
  3. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈsərk(ə)l/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent

  1. Verb

    circle

    Definitions

    1. travel around something

    Examples

    • « circle the globe »

    Derived terms

  2. 2. move in circles

    Derived terms

  3. 3. be around

    Examples

    • « Developments surround the town »
    • « The river encircles the village »

    Derived terms

  4. 4. form a circle around

    Examples

    • « encircle the errors »

    Derived terms

  5. Noun

    circle

    Etymology

    Old English, from Old French cercle, from Latin circulus‘small ring’, diminutive of circus‘ring’

    Definitions

    1. ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length

    Examples

    • « a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point »
    • « he calculated the circumference of the circle »
  6. 2. an unofficial association of people or groups

    Examples

    • « the smart set goes there »
    • « they were an angry lot »
  7. 3. something approximating the shape of a circle

    Examples

    • « the chairs were arranged in a circle »

    Derived terms

  8. 4. movement once around a course

    Examples

    • « he drove an extra lap just for insurance »

    Derived terms

  9. 5. a road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island

    Examples

    • « the accident blocked all traffic at the rotary »
  10. 6. street names for flunitrazepan
  11. 7. a curved section or tier of seats in a hall or theater or opera house

    Examples

    • « usually the first tier above the orchestra »
    • « they had excellent seats in the dress circle »
  12. 8. any circular or rotating mechanism

    Examples

    • « the machine punched out metal circles »

    Derived terms

Famous quotes

  • « I like science and I love gym. Oh, and I like art, but I'm really bad at it. I'm just a terrible drawer. I can't draw a circle. Even with a ruler, I can't draw a straight line. »
    Daniel Radcliffe
  • « To love someone is to isolate him from the world, wipe out every trace of him, dispossess him of his shadow, drag him into a murderous future. It is to circle around the other like a dead star and absorb him into a black light. »
    Jean Baudrillard
  • « It was a real surprise to me to come across the evidence that Christianity might once have been a danced religion. Certainly, some of the early church leaders thought this was great and spoke of what seems to have been circle dancing, perhaps around an altar. »
    Barbara Ehrenreich
  • « You know when I feel inwardly beautiful? When I am with my girlfriends and we are having a 'goddess circle'. »
    Jennifer Aniston
  • « If I had a personal wish for the new ideas in this new book it would be that every parent, every counselor, every teacher, every professor, every sports coach that deals with young people would understand the three circle concept. »
    James Collins

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