circle
circle — noun
1. a round form created by a curved line whose points all stay the same distance fr
a round form created by a curved line whose points all stay the same distance from a central point; the flat region enclosed by that line
The children sat on the carpet in a circle to listen to the story.
in a circle — prepositional phrase for arrangement
Yara drew a large red circle on her piece of paper.
draw + circle: common verb–noun collocation
The clock on the classroom wall is a perfect white circle.
Cut the cookie dough into small circles with a knife.
A full moon is a bright circle hanging in the night sky.
- draw a circle
- form a circle
- in a circle
- a circle of light
- a circle of stones
- square
a shape with four straight sides of equal length and four right angles
Usage Note
Countable noun. Often used with 'in' to describe arrangement: 'in a circle'. Also followed by 'of' to specify what is shaped that way: 'a circle of light'.
Common Mistakes
2. any set of individuals connected through similar interests, shared work, or soci
any set of individuals connected through similar interests, shared work, or social bonds with one another
Priya has a wide circle of friends from different countries.
circle of friends — most common collocation
The novel was widely discussed in academic circles across Europe.
academic circles / political circles / business circles
Rohan moved in literary circles after publishing his first book of poetry.
move in … circles — fixed expression
Her close circle of colleagues supported her through the difficult project.
The Watanabe family's social circle includes many artists and musicians.
- circle of friends
- social circle
- academic circles
- political circles
- business circles
- inner circle
- move in … circles
Grammar Patterns
circle of + plural noun
Usage Note
Almost always followed by 'of + noun' to specify the type of people (circle of friends, circle of colleagues). The expression 'move in … circles' describes someone's typical social or professional environment.
Common Mistakes
3. a curved seating area on an upper level of a theatre, cinema, or similar perform
a curved seating area on an upper level of a theatre, cinema, or similar performance venue
Theo bought cheap tickets for the circle at the National Theatre.
From the upper circle, Nadia could see the entire stage perfectly.
upper circle / dress circle — specific balcony levels
The family sat in the dress circle to watch the ballet performance.
The theatre has three levels: stalls, circle, and balcony.
- upper circle
- dress circle
- circle seats
- in the circle
- stalls
the lowest level of seating on the ground floor of a theatre
Usage Note
Chiefly British English. In US theatres the same level is usually called the 'mezzanine' or 'balcony'. Common specific varieties: 'dress circle' (the first balcony, slightly more expensive seats) and 'upper circle' (higher, cheaper seats).
circle back (to)
phrasal verbto return to a topic or issue later, especially after discussing other related matters first
Let me circle back to that question after we have looked at the budget figures.
The manager promised to circle back with the team once she had more information.
come/go full circle
idiomto return to the same situation or position that you started in, after going through a series of changes
After ten years abroad, Tomás returned to his hometown and felt his life had come full circle.
Fashion has gone full circle — the hairstyles from the 1990s are popular again now.
to waste time and energy doing many things without achieving any useful result
The team spent the whole morning running around in circles without solving the problem.
Stop running around in circles and focus on one thing at a time.
circle the wagons
idiomto join together with other people in order to protect yourselves from criticism or attack from outside the group
When the journalist asked difficult questions, the politicians circled the wagons and refused to comment.
The family circled the wagons after the unfair criticism appeared in the local newspaper.
To end up in the same situation as at the beginning, after many changes.
After years of travel, Maya's life came full circle when she returned home.
The company's focus on quality has turned full circle since its early days.
go round in circles
idiomTo keep discussing or doing the same things without reaching a solution or making progress.
The committee went round in circles debating the budget for hours.
Why are we going round in circles? Let's decide now.
run round in circles
idiomTo be very busy but without achieving anything useful or making real progress.
Sara ran round in circles all day but finished nothing important.
Stop running round in circles and focus on one task at a time.
square the circle
idiomTo try to do something that seems impossible, like combining two opposite things.
The manager tried to square the circle of cutting costs and raising salaries.
Can we square the circle of economic growth and environmental protection?
circle — verb
1. to go along a curved path that passes around a person, thing, or place, sometime
to go along a curved path that passes around a person, thing, or place, sometimes repeatedly; to travel in a loop around something
Eagles circled high above the mountain valley looking for food.
intransitive: circle + location adverb
A police helicopter circled the building twice before landing on the roof.
transitive: circle + direct object
The plane circled the airport for forty minutes waiting for permission to land.
Kofi watched the dancers circle one another slowly in the middle of the room.
Shadows circled the room as the candle flame flickered in the breeze.
- circle above
- circle around
- circle over
- circle the airport
- circle the building
Grammar Patterns
circle + object (transitive)
circle around + object (intransitive)
circle + adverb phrase
Usage Note
Can be used intransitively ('The birds circled above') or transitively ('The plane circled the airport'). The intransitive form is often followed by an adverb of place or 'around'. This sense is less common in everyday conversation and more frequent in descriptive or formal narrative contexts.
Common Mistakes
2. to draw a circular line around a word, number, letter, or symbol on a page in or
to draw a circular line around a word, number, letter, or symbol on a page in order to select, highlight, or mark it
The teacher told the students to circle the correct answer on the worksheet.
common in classroom instructions
Hana circled the wedding date on her calendar with a red pen.
Circle any words in the passage that you do not understand.
imperative form — typical in test/exam instructions
The student circled the spelling mistake and wrote the correction above it.
Diego circled the names of three candidates on the voting paper.
- circle the answer
- circle the word
- circle the date
- circle with a pen
- cross out
to draw a line through something to remove or reject it
Grammar Patterns
circle + noun phrase
Usage Note
Very common in classroom instructions, exam directions, and marking. The action is done with a pen or pencil. This sense is purely about drawing a circle around something on a flat surface — not about physical movement.
Common Mistakes
3. to place or arrange people or objects so that they form the shape of a circle, o
to place or arrange people or objects so that they form the shape of a circle, often around a central point or person
The teacher circled the desks so students could see one another during the discussion.
active form + around omitted (implied by context)
The children circled the birthday cake and began to sing loudly.
The stones were circled around the campfire to mark the edge of the sitting area.
passive: be circled around
Leila circled the chairs around the low table for the evening gathering of friends.
- circle around
- be circled by
- circle the chairs
- circle the table
- spread out
to place items apart from each other rather than in a closed shape
Grammar Patterns
circle + noun phrase + around + noun phrase
be circled + prepositional phrase
Usage Note
Often used in the passive voice ('The chairs were circled around the table'). The pattern 'circle + noun + around + noun' is the most common. This sense overlaps partly with verb sense 1 (MOVE AROUND) but differs in that the focus here is on resulting arrangement, not motion.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- circularadjectiveB2
- circulateverbB2
- circulationnounB2
- circularlyadverbC1
- semi-circlenounB1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
These four words all relate to circularity but differ in shape, dimension, and use. A circle is a two-dimensional closed curve with all points equidistant from a centre — the core geometric shape. A ring is a circular band, often three-dimensional and hollow in the middle, like a wedding ring or a key ring. A round is less precise: it can describe any circular object or portion of something, such as a round of cheese, or a single stage in a competition (a boxing round). A cycle refers to a repeating sequence of events or processes (the water cycle, a business cycle) rather than a physical shape. In daily use: 'draw a circle' (shape), 'wear a ring' (jewellery), 'cut a round of bread' (slice), 'the cycle of the seasons' (recurring pattern).
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'circle' comes from Latin 'circulus', which means 'a small ring' and is a diminutive form of 'circus', meaning 'ring' or 'round enclosure'. The Latin word entered Old French as 'cercle', and then came into Middle English around the 12th century. The mathematical sense of a round plane figure has been in use since the 14th century, while the social-group meaning appeared in the early 18th century. The verb form developed from the noun in the 16th century.