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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
That appealed to 40-year-old Bianca Rodrigues, who soaked up the atmosphere Saturday with her 12-year-old daughter, Gia, and a circle of friends.—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 June 2024 The zoo also recently removed 14,000 square feet of lawn to create a California Native Gateway Garden at its south entrance, by the bus circle, drawing on the expertise of the Theodore Payne Foundation for its native plant choices.—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2024
Verb
Various Europeans have been circling around this, but it’s generally credited to Nicolas Clément, a French chemist and physicist.—Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 May 2024 In 2009, before COVID-19 circled the globe, swine flu swept through the U.S. after hundreds of sick pigs died on a massive farm in Mexico.—Heather Moore, The Mercury News, 28 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for circle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'circle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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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