Link Centre Dictionary

circle

UK/ˈsɜːkəl/ US/ˈsɜɹkəl/ common
noun (8) verb (4)

noun

1.

ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point

  • “he calculated the circumference of the circle”
2.

an unofficial association of people or groups

  • “the smart set goes there”
  • “they were an angry lot”
Synonyms
3.

something approximating the shape of a circle

  • “the chairs were arranged in a circle”
4.

movement once around a course

  • “he drove an extra lap just for insurance”
Synonyms
5.

a road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island

  • “the accident blocked all traffic at the rotary”
Synonyms
6.
7.

a curved section or tier of seats in a hall or theater or opera house; usually the first tier above the orchestra

  • “they had excellent seats in the dress circle”
Synonyms
8.

any circular or rotating mechanism

  • “the machine punched out metal circles”
Synonyms

verb

1.

travel around something

  • “circle the globe”
2.

move in circles

Synonyms
3.

be around

  • “Developments surround the town”
  • “The river encircles the village”
Synonyms
4.

form a circle around

  • “encircle the errors”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English circle, cercle, from Old French cercle and Latin circulus, diminutive of Latin circus (“circle, circus”), from Ancient Greek κίρκος (kírkos, “circle, ring”), related to Old English hring (“ring”).

Phrases

  • Antarctic Circle
  • Apollonian circle
  • Arctic Circle
  • azimuth circle
  • babysitting circle
  • Bevan circle
  • blood circle
  • circle in
  • circle out
  • circle the drain
  • circle the field
  • circle the wagons

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.