circle
/ˈsəːk(ə)l
/noun
1A round plane figure whose boundary (the circumference) consists of points equidistant from a fixed point (the centre): draw a circle with a compass...
- In the normal geometry of flat space, the diameter of a circle is its circumference divided by pi.
- Pi, the ratio between a circle's diameter and circumference, has fascinated mathematicians for centuries.
- We will locate a marker on the circumference of a circle.
1.1Something in the shape of a circle: the lamp spread a circle of light they all sat round in a circle...
- I don't know how they get white meat packed into the neat circles or oval shapes that they make chicken sandwich out of.
- When the petals fall a large circle of beautifully shaped brown seeds are left arrayed in spirograph formation.
- The beam of light aimed at the circle was in the shape of a circle.
Synonyms
ring, round, band, hoop, circlet;
halo, disc, wreath
technical annulus
1.2A dark circular mark below each eye caused by illness or tiredness: she was pale and rather beautiful, with dark circles around deep, exhausted eyes...
- His hair was wild, and dark circles hung below his eyes.
- Her eyes were weary and bloodshot with deep dark circles under them.
- I see dark circles under my bloodshot blue eyes and wrinkles from at least four years of undue stress.
1.3British A curved upper tier of seats in a theatre or cinema: she sat in the front row of the circle...
- The blueprint sees an auditorium retained, with seating in the circle on the first floor which could be used to watch theatre.
- There were so many choir wannabes that they filled the choir platform, the stalls and the circle seats.
- Even from my seat in the circle, Aida's blue eye-shadow looked excessive.
1.4 Hockey short for striking circle.Pakistan lifted the tempo a notch after yesterday's match but lacked striking power in the circle in the first half.
2A group of people with a shared profession, interests, or acquaintances: she did not normally move in such exalted circles...
- I prefer a few close friends to a wide circle of acquaintances.
- And at weekends they spend their hard-earned cash in pubs and clubs with a wide circle of interesting, cosmopolitan friends.
- Little by little he forges around himself a circle of acquaintances and friends.
Synonyms
group, set, ring, company, body, coterie, clique;
camp, league, faction;
crowd, band, crew
informal gang, bunch, pack
sphere, world, milieu, arena, domain;
society
verb [with object]
1Move all the way around (someone or something), especially more than once: they were circling Athens airport (as adjective circling) a circling helicopter [no object]: we circled round the island...
- Round and around they circled each other, lunging, stepping back, attacking and then defending.
- Two dogs were circling each other in the enclosed space.
- Turning to a working radar, we immediately spotted little white dots circling nearby Alcatraz Island.
Synonyms
wheel, move round, move round in circles, revolve, rotate, whirl, spiral, gyrate
go round, walk round, travel round, circumnavigate;
orbit, revolve round
rare circumambulate
1.1 [no object] (circle back) Move in a wide loop back towards one’s starting point: he paced away from her, then circled back...
- We circled back towards J Street, passing the St. Francis of Assisi church.
- The offspring of the Manhattan Project are circling back toward Manhattan.
- The dog first heads away from the road, then quickly circles back toward the family.
1.2Form a ring around: the abbey was circled by a huge wall...
- Seen from space, an aurora appears as a ring of energy circling a planet's polar region.
- The steel fence circling the ‘promised land’ looked rather imposing.
- Their house will be circled, surrounded.
Synonyms
surround, encircle, ring, ring round, enclose, encompass, bound;
hedge in, fence in, hem in
literary gird, girdle
1.3Draw a line around: circle the correct answers...
- As he held the classified section toward me, I noticed a hastily drawn line circling one of the ads.
- Answer by circling the response that best describes you: Agree, Unsure, or Disagree
- She went through the ads with her pen, circling some and putting a single line alongside others.
Phrases
circle the wagons
come (or turn) full circle
go (or run) round in circles
Origin
Old English, from Old French cercle, from Latin circulus 'small ring', diminutive of circus 'ring'.
The root of circle is Latin circulus ‘small ring’, from circus ‘ring’, the source of our word circus (Late Middle English). A Roman circus was a rounded or oval arena lined with tiers of seats, where chariot races, gladiatorial combats, and other, often cruel, contests took place. Names like Piccadilly Circus were attached to open, more or less circular areas in towns where streets converged. Other words from the same root include circuit (Late Middle English) from Latin circum ire ‘go around’, and circulate (Late Middle English) ‘move in a circular path’. Come or turn full circle is a reference to ‘The Wheele is come full circle’ in Shakespeare's King Lear. The wheel is the one thought of as being turned by the goddess Fortune and symbolizing change.