Noun
She drew a circle around the correct answer.
We formed a circle around the campfire.
He looked old and tired, with dark circles under his eyes.
She has a large circle of friends.
She is well-known in banking circles. Verb
He circled his arms around his wife's waist.
His arms circled around his wife's waist.
She circled the correct answer.
The pilot circled the airport before landing.
The halfback circled to the left.
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Noun
This is incredibly damaging to career prospects and, given how little knowledge exists in mainstream medical and occupational health circles, can feel confusing and frightening for those who don’t know where to turn for advice.—Nancy Doyle, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025 Yao is tough in the circle, with a 3.12 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings.—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2025
Verb
Soon, more of these sneaky clickers are circling, so Ellie makes Dina go and hide.—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 11 May 2025 Most buyers admire the bravura filmmaking, but mainly art-house distributors are circling.—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 17 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for circle
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English cercle, from Anglo-French, from Latin circulus, diminutive of circus circle, circus, from or akin to Greek krikos, kirkos ring; akin to Old English hring ring — more at ring
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