Definitions for circle
ˈsɜr kəlcir·cle

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. circle(noun)

   ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point

   "he calculated the circumference of the circle"

2. set, circle, band, lot(noun)

   an unofficial association of people or groups

   "the smart set goes there"; "they were an angry lot"

3. circle(noun)

   something approximating the shape of a circle

   "the chairs were arranged in a circle"

4. lap, circle, circuit(noun)

   movement once around a course

   "he drove an extra lap just for insurance"

5. traffic circle, circle, rotary, roundabout(noun)

   a road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island

   "the accident blocked all traffic at the rotary"

6. R-2, Mexican valium, rophy, rope, roofy, roach, forget me drug, circle(noun)

   street names for flunitrazepan

7. circle, dress circle(noun)

   a curved section or tier of seats in a hall or theater or opera house; usually the first tier above the orchestra

   "they had excellent seats in the dress circle"

8. circle, round(verb)

   any circular or rotating mechanism

   "the machine punched out metal circles"

9. circle(verb)

   travel around something

   "circle the globe"

10. circle, circulate(verb)

    move in circles

11. encircle, circle(verb)

    form a circle around

    "encircle the errors"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. circle(Noun)

   A two-dimensional geometric figure, a line, consisting of the set of all those points in a plane that are equally distant from another point.

   The set of all points (x, y) such that uE00025290uE001 is a circle of radius r around the point (1, 0).

   Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

2. circle(Noun)

   A two-dimensional geometric figure, a disk, consisting of the set of all those points of a plane at a distance less than or equal to a fixed distance from another point.

   Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

3. circle(Noun)

   Any thin three-dimensional equivalent of the geometric figures.

   Put on your dunce-cap and sit down on that circle.

   Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

4. circle(Noun)

   A curve that more or less forms part or all of a circle.

   move in a circle

   Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

5. circle(Noun)

   Orbit.

   Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

6. circle(Noun)

   A specific group of persons.

   Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

7. circle(Noun)

   A line comprising two semicircles of 30 yards radius centred on the wickets joined by straight lines parallel to the pitch used to enforce field restrictions in a one-day match.

   Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

8. circle(Noun)

   A ritual circle that is casted three times deosil and closes three times widdershins either in the air with a wand or literally with stones or other itmes used for worship

   Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

9. circle(Verb)

   To travel around along a curved path.

   Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

10. circle(Verb)

    To surround.

    Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

11. circle(Verb)

    To place or mark a circle around.

    Circle the jobs that you are interested in applying for.

    Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

12. circle(Verb)

    To travel in circles.

    Vultures circled overhead.

    Etymology: From circulus. Replaced Middle English cercle from Old French.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Circle(noun)

   a plane figure, bounded by a single curve line called its circumference, every part of which is equally distant from a point within it, called the center

   Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

2. Circle(noun)

   the line that bounds such a figure; a circumference; a ring

   Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

3. Circle(noun)

   an instrument of observation, the graduated limb of which consists of an entire circle

   Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

4. Circle(noun)

   a round body; a sphere; an orb

   Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

5. Circle(noun)

   compass; circuit; inclosure

   Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

6. Circle(noun)

   a company assembled, or conceived to assemble, about a central point of interest, or bound by a common tie; a class or division of society; a coterie; a set

   Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

7. Circle(noun)

   a circular group of persons; a ring

   Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

8. Circle(noun)

   a series ending where it begins, and repeating itself

   Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

9. Circle(noun)

   a form of argument in which two or more unproved statements are used to prove each other; inconclusive reasoning

   Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

10. Circle(noun)

    indirect form of words; circumlocution

    Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

11. Circle(noun)

    a territorial division or district

    Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

12. Circle(noun)

    to move around; to revolve around

    Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

13. Circle(noun)

    to encompass, as by a circle; to surround; to inclose; to encircle

    Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

14. Circle(verb)

    to move circularly; to form a circle; to circulate

    Etymology: [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Circle

   A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry that is the set of all points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius. It can also be defined as the locus of a point equidistant from a fixed point. A circle is a simple closed curve which divides the plane into two regions: an interior and an exterior. In everyday use, the term "circle" may be used interchangeably to refer to either the boundary of the figure, or to the whole figure including its interior; in strict technical usage, the circle is the former and the latter is called a disk. A circle can be defined as the curve traced out by a point that moves so that its distance from a given point is constant. A circle may also be defined as a special ellipse in which the two foci are coincident and the eccentricity is 0. Circles are conic sections attained when a right circular cone is intersected by a plane perpendicular to the axis of the cone.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Circle

   sėr′kl, n. a plane figure bounded by one line every point of which is equally distant from a certain point called the centre: the line which bounds the figure: a ring: a planet's orbit: a series ending where it began: a figure in magic; a company surrounding the principal person: those of a certain class or society.—v.t. to move round: to encompass.—v.i. to move in a circle: to stand in a circle.—adjs. Cir′cinate; Cir′cled, circular: encircled.—ns. Cir′cler; Cir′clet; Cir′cling, motion in a circle: a revolution.—Dress′ cir′cle (see Dress); Fair′y-cir′cle, -ring (see Fairy).—Reasoning in a circle, assuming what is to be proved as the basis of the argument. [A.S. circul—L. circulus, dim. of circus; allied to A.S. hring, a ring.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. circle

   A plane figure bounded by a line called the circumference, everywhere equally distant from a point within it, called the centre.

Suggested Resources(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. circle

   The circle symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the circle symbol and its characteristic.

2. circle

   Song lyrics by circle -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by circle on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'circle' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3028

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'circle' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2940

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'circle' in Nouns Frequency: #920

Anagrams for circle »

1. cleric

How to pronounce circle?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say circle in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of circle in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of circle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of circle in a Sentence

1. Marc Ambinder:

   If the norms and interests of the deep state, however you want to define them, are seen as being threatened by some powerful actor — in this case, the president himself, it is both accurate and kind of scary to notice that people can use secrets to try and stop him. If you oppose Trump, you might be willing to forgive these transgressions because a greater good is served. You might. Or you might wonder what will happen if the U.S. elects a president whom you might support, but who wants to, say, cut off an important mechanism for obtaining secrets used by the NSA or constrain the military’s ability to bomb targets overseas, in the case of Trump, a lot of the leaks seem to be coming from within his own circle. Some obviously come from secret-keepers who are genuinely worried about his mental capacity. Others — who knows? There is no organized conspiracy, but the threshold for disclosing information to people seems to be a lot lower.

2. Alexander Rossi:

   The four team mates and the fifth added for the 500 are an incredibly close knit group and after every day we sit down in a circle and discuss our individual day and what worked and what didn't work, that's how as a unit, as a team, we move forward.

3. Anuj Somany:

   The bigger the fake a person is , the larger the circle s/he makes around oneself of people who are only false friends.

4. Special Representative Abdoulaye Bathily:

   This escalation of violence is a danger for the whole region and so something has to be done, after almost 20 years of violence, civil war, it would be really sad for Burundi to plunge again into a new circle of violence.

5. Matshona Dhliwayo:

   If you don't fit into a box you can always try to fit into a circle.

Images & Illustrations of circle

Popularity rank by frequency of use