circle
verb/ˈsɜːkl/
/ˈsɜːrkl/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they circle | /ˈsɜːkl/ /ˈsɜːrkl/ |
| he / she / it circles | /ˈsɜːklz/ /ˈsɜːrklz/ |
| past simple circled | /ˈsɜːkld/ /ˈsɜːrkld/ |
| past participle circled | /ˈsɜːkld/ /ˈsɜːrkld/ |
| -ing form circling | /ˈsɜːklɪŋ/ /ˈsɜːrklɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] to draw a circle around something
- circle something Luke circled a date on the kitchen calendar.
- Respondents were asked to circle the appropriate answers.
- circle something in something Spelling mistakes are circled in red ink.
- She circled her birthday in red on the calendar.
- Investigators circled bullet holes with chalk.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryphrases- circle something in black, red, etc.
Definitions on the go
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- [intransitive, transitive] to move in a circle, especially in the air
- The helicopter was circling slowly, very low.
- circle above/over something Police helicopters circled above the park.
- circle around something He flew lower and circled around the lake.
- circle around above/over something Seagulls circled around above his head.
- circle overhead A buzzard was circling overhead.
- circle somebody/something The plane circled the airport to burn up excess fuel.
- The bell rang and the two boxers began circling each other.
Extra Examples- Several airliners were circling above the airport.
- The vultures were already circling around the dead animal.
- A small aircraft was circling overhead.
- Seagulls circled around the boat.
- The circling birds in the sky above looked like vultures.
- The plane had to circle the airport for another 30 minutes before landing.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- slowly
- overhead
- above
- around
- round
- …
Word OriginOld English, from Old French cercle, from Latin circulus ‘small ring’, diminutive of circus ‘ring’.
Idioms
See circle in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee circle in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishcircle the wagons
- (North American English) to join together with people who have the same ideas and beliefs as you, and avoid contact with those who do not, who may threaten or attack you
- When your way of life is threatened, you have to circle the wagons and defend yourself.
- They immediately circled the wagons around the senator to protect him.
Check pronunciation:
circle