1
as in surrounded
to form a circle around
everyone circled the lectern and waited their turn to read from the Bible
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in orbited
to travel completely around
with a look of extreme frustration, the commander circled the new recruit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of circled
The suspect then circled and drove directly at another officer, the report states.
—
S.e. Jenkins, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026
The Ducks circled the wagons to win 6-5 in a bonus frame.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 23 Mar. 2026
Among the news articles and pamphlets was a flier with a photo of Stephen Miller's face circled in red with a line through it.
—Arkansas Online, 22 Mar. 2026
Some names, like Marist’s Kate Harpring and Wheeler’s Colben Landrew, were circled by many before the week began.
—Jack Leo, AJC.com, 18 Mar. 2026
Derik Queen sat as reporters circled him.
—Shakeia Taylor, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Much of what O’Hearn preached as a longtime coach with the program always circled around defense.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2026
An underwater robot circled the wreck site of the USS Monitor to get new high-res images of the famous ship.
—Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2026
Houses painted in bright primary colors circled the harbor, framed by white and purple lupines.
—Gina Decaprio Vercesi, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2026
S.e. Jenkins, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026
The Ducks circled the wagons to win 6-5 in a bonus frame.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 23 Mar. 2026
Among the news articles and pamphlets was a flier with a photo of Stephen Miller's face circled in red with a line through it.
—Arkansas Online, 22 Mar. 2026
Some names, like Marist’s Kate Harpring and Wheeler’s Colben Landrew, were circled by many before the week began.
—Jack Leo, AJC.com, 18 Mar. 2026
Derik Queen sat as reporters circled him.
—Shakeia Taylor, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Much of what O’Hearn preached as a longtime coach with the program always circled around defense.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2026
An underwater robot circled the wreck site of the USS Monitor to get new high-res images of the famous ship.
—Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2026
Houses painted in bright primary colors circled the harbor, framed by white and purple lupines.
—Gina Decaprio Vercesi, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circled
Verb
-
My friend Thai, whose parents were part of the Weather Underground leadership, remembers his father, Jeff Jones, coming home one day to find their family’s Hoboken apartment surrounded by cops—a fire inspector had spotted his tiny crop of marijuana plants on the fire escape.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
-
More than a dozen police and emergency vehicles surrounded a U-Haul truck cordoned off with caution tape outside the stadium.—
Suryatapa Chakraborty,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The world’s first lunar visitors orbited the moon on Apollo 8.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
That might lead to comparisons with Apollo 8 — the first mission to fly humans to the moon in 1968 — but Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders orbited the moon.—
Robert Z. Pearlman,
Space.com,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Instead of forming a concentric pattern around Katmai, the ash encircled Novarupta.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Just beyond this mess, a chain-link fence encircled the site of the lodge.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Some 80 oil and gas tankers a day typically traversed the Strait of Hormuz before the war, The New York Times noted.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The landscape—rolling hills, thick forests, and lush river valleys—lends itself to hiking and biking, and the park is also traversed by the Green and Nolin rivers, which offer plenty of opportunities for boating and fishing.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
About 30 Nike missile bases ringed the Chicago area.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
-
It’s all housed in a spare modern building designed by Kengo Kuma and ringed by an expansive Japanese landscape garden where visitors are invited to stroll.—
Jessica Kozuka,
Travel + Leisure,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index was down more than 6% on the month and crossed into correction territory from its January peak.—
Benzinga,
Freep.com,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Faith in Action noted that the effort was aided by the four Republicans who crossed party lines.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Joel Farabee, Ryan Strome, Olli Maatta, Zayne Parekh and Adam Klapka rounded out the scoring.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee rounded out the lineup.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Circled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circled. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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