Link Centre Dictionary

circulate

cir·cu·late

UK/ˈsɜː.kjʊˌleɪt/ US/ˈsɝ.kjʊˌleɪt/ uncommon

verb

1.

become widely known and passed on

  • “the rumor spread”
  • “the story went around in the office”
Synonyms
2.

cause to become widely known

  • “spread information”
  • “circulate a rumor”
  • “broadcast the news”
Synonyms
3.

cause to be distributed

  • “This letter is circulating among the faculty”
Synonyms
4.

move through a space, circuit or system, returning to the starting point

  • “Blood circulates in my veins”
  • “The air here does not circulate”
5.

move in circles

Synonyms
6.

cause to move in a circuit or system

  • “The fan circulates the air in the room”
7.

move around freely

  • “She circulates among royalty”
8.

cause to move around

  • “circulate a rumor”
Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from Late Latin circulātus, perfect passive participle of Late Latin circulō (“to make circular, encircle”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), a later collateral form of circulor (“form a circle (of men) around oneself”), from circulus (“a circle”). See also Middle English circulat(e) (“(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel”).

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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.