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12 dictionary results for: Circle
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cir·cle       [sur-kuhl] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -cled, -cling.
–noun
1.a closed plane curve consisting of all points at a given distance from a point within it called the center. Equation: x 2 + y2 = r2.
2.the portion of a plane bounded by such a curve.
3.any circular or ringlike object, formation, or arrangement: a circle of dancers.
4.a ring, circlet, or crown.
5.the ring of a circus.
6.a section of seats in a theater: dress circle.
7.the area within which something acts, exerts influence, etc.; realm; sphere: A politician has a wide circle of influence.
8.a series ending where it began, esp. when perpetually repeated; cycle: the circle of the year.
9.Logic. an argument ostensibly proving a conclusion but actually assuming the conclusion or its equivalent as a premise; vicious circle.
10.a complete series forming a connected whole; cycle: the circle of the sciences.
11.a number of persons bound by a common tie; coterie: a literary circle; a family circle.
12.Government. an administrative division, esp. of a province.
13.Geography. a parallel of latitude.
14.Astronomy.
a.(formerly) the orbit of a heavenly body.
b.meridian circle.
15.Surveying. a glass or metal disk mounted concentrically with the spindle of a theodolite or level and graduated so that the angle at which the alidade is set may be read.
16.a sphere or orb: the circle of the earth.
17.a ring of light in the sky; halo.
–verb (used with object)
18.to enclose in a circle; surround; encircle: Circle the correct answer on the exam paper. The enemy circled the hill.
19.to move in a circle or circuit around; rotate or revolve around: He circled the house cautiously.
20.to change course so as to pass by or avoid collision with; bypass; evade: The ship carefully circled the iceberg.
–verb (used without object)
21.to move in a circle or circuit: The plane circled for half an hour before landing.
22.Movies, Television. to iris (usually fol. by in or out).
—Idiom
23.circle the wagons,
a.(in the early U.S. West) to form the wagons of a covered-wagon train into a circle for defensive purposes, as against Indian attack.
b.Slang. to prepare for an all-out, unaided defensive fight: The company has circled the wagons since its market share began to decline.
[Origin: bef. 1000; < L circulus, equiv. to circ(us) (see circus) + -ulus -ule; r. ME cercle < OF < L, as above; r. OE circul < L, as above]

—Related forms
circler, noun

—Synonyms 3. ring, halo, corona. 11. Circle, club, coterie, set, society are terms applied to restricted social groups. A circle may be a little group; in the plural it often suggests a whole section of society interested in one mode of life, occupation, etc.: a sewing circle; a language circle; in theatrical circles. Club implies an association with definite requirements for membership and fixed dues: an athletic club. Coterie suggests a little group closely and intimately associated because of congeniality: a literary coterie. Set refers to a number of persons of similar background, interests, etc., somewhat like a clique (See ring1) but without disapproving connotations; however, it often implies wealth or interest in social activities: the country club set. A society is a group associated to further common interests of a cultural or practical kind: a Humane Society.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cir·cle       (sûr'kəl)  Pronunciation Key 


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n.  
  1. A plane curve everywhere equidistant from a given fixed point, the center.
  2. A planar region bounded by a circle.
  3. Something, such as a ring, shaped like such a plane curve.
  4. A circular course, circuit, or orbit: a satellite's circle around the earth.
  5. A traffic circle.
  6. A curved section or tier of seats in a theater.
  7. A series or process that finishes at its starting point or continuously repeats itself; a cycle.
  8. A group of people sharing an interest, activity, or achievement: well-known in artistic circles.
  9. A territorial or administrative division, especially of a province, in some European countries.
  10. A sphere of influence or interest; domain.
  11. Logic A vicious circle.

v.   cir·cled, cir·cling, cir·cles

v.   tr.
  1. To make or form a circle around; enclose. See Synonyms at surround.
  2. To move in a circle around.

v.   intr.
To move in a circle. See Synonyms at turn.


[Middle English cercle, from Old French, from Latin circulus, diminutive of circus, circle, from Greek kirkos, krikos; see sker-2 in Indo-European roots.]

cir'cler (-klər) n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
circle 
c.1305, from O.Fr. cercle, from L. circulus "small ring," dim. of circus (q.v.). Replaced O.E. trendel and hring. Meaning "group of persons surrounding a center of interest" is from 1714; that of "coterie" is from 1646; dim. form circlet is from 1481. The verb is from c.1374.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
circle

noun
1. 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. an unofficial association of people or groups; "the smart set goes there"; "they were an angry lot" [syn: set] 
3. something approximating the shape of a circle; "the chairs were arranged in a circle" 
4. movement once around a course; "he drove an extra lap just for insurance" [syn: lap] 
5. a road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island; "the accident blocked all traffic at the rotary" [syn: traffic circle] 
6. street names for flunitrazepan [syn: R-2] 
7. 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. any circular or rotating mechanism; "the machine punched out metal circles" 

verb
1. travel around something; "circle the globe" 
2. move in circles 
3. form a circle around; "encircle the errors" [syn: encircle] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

circle

see full circle; go around (in circles); run around (in circles); run rings (circles) around; vicious circle.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
circle       (sûr'kəl)  Pronunciation Key 


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A closed curve whose points are all on the same plane and at the same distance from a fixed point (the center).

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

circle cir·cle (sûr'kəl)
n.

  1. A ring-shaped structure or group of structures.
  2. A line or process with every point equidistant from the center.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Wallstreet Words - Cite This Source - Share This

circle

A process used in finding interested buyers of a new security issue before determining the final price. A potential customer will be given a preliminary price (for example, the interest rate for a bond or the selling price for a stock) and will commit to a purchase if the issue is actually priced at the preliminary estimate. A different price permits the customer to back out or to get the first chance to buy the issue at the new price. Compare indication of interest.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today's Investor by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Circle Pines, MN (city, FIPS 11494) Location: 45.13850 N, 93.15245 W
Population (1990): 4704 (1599 housing units)
Area: 4.5 sq km (land), 0.5 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 55014

Circle D-KC Estates, TX (CDP, FIPS 14986) Location: 30.16080 N, 97.23135 W
Population (1990): 1247 (478 housing units)
Area: 24.2 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)

Circle Hot Springs Station, AK (CDP, FIPS 14990) Location: 65.47035 N, 144.68913 W
Population (1990): 29 (97 housing units)
Area: 138.0 sq km (land), 2.6 sq km (water)

Circle, AK (CDP, FIPS 14880) Location: 65.82454 N, 144.08262 W
Population (1990): 73 (31 housing units)
Area: 11.8 sq km (land), 2.9 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 99733

Circle, MT (town, FIPS 14950) Location: 47.41749 N, 105.58614 W
Population (1990): 805 (399 housing units)
Area: 2.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 59215

Social Circle, GA (city, FIPS 71660) Location: 33.65854 N, 83.71802 W
Population (1990): 2755 (1047 housing units)
Area: 28.7 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 30279

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Circle

Cir"cle\ (s[~e]r"k'l), n. [OE. cercle, F. cercle, fr. L. circulus (Whence also AS. circul), dim. of circus circle, akin to Gr. kri`kos, ki`rkos, circle, ring. Cf. Circus, Circum-.]

1. 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.

2. The line that bounds such a figure; a circumference; a ring.

3. (Astron.) An instrument of observation, the graduated limb of which consists of an entire circle.

Note: When it is fixed to a wall in an observatory, it is called a mural circle; when mounted with a telescope on an axis and in Y's, in the plane of the meridian, a meridian or transit circle; when involving the principle of reflection, like the sextant, a reflecting circle; and when that of repeating an angle several times continuously along the graduated limb, a repeating circle.

4. A round body; a sphere; an orb.

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth. --Is. xi. 22.

5. Compass; circuit; inclosure.

In the circle of this forest. --Shak.

6. 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.

As his name gradually became known, the circle of his acquaintance widened. --Macaulay.

7. A circular group of persons; a ring.

8. A series ending where it begins, and repeating itself.

Thus in a circle runs the peasant's pain. --Dryden.

9. (Logic) A form of argument in which two or more unproved statements are used to prove each other; inconclusive reasoning.

That heavy bodies descend by gravity; and, again, that gravity is a quality whereby a heavy body descends, is an impertinent circle and teaches nothing. --Glanvill.

10. Indirect form of words; circumlocution. [R.]

Has he given the lie, In circle, or oblique, or semicircle. --J. Fletcher.

11. A territorial division or district.

Note:

The Circles of the Holy Roman Empire, ten in number, were those principalities or provinces which had seats in the German Diet.

Azimuth circle. See under Azimuth.

Circle of altitude (Astron.), a circle parallel to the horizon, having its pole in the zenith; an almucantar.

Circle of curvature. See Osculating circle of a curve (Below).

Circle of declination. See under Declination.

Circle of latitude. (a) (Astron.) A great circle perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic, passing through its poles. (b) (Spherical Projection) A small circle of the sphere whose plane is perpendicular to the axis.

Circles of longitude, lesser circles parallel to the ecliptic, diminishing as they recede from it.

Circle of perpetual apparition, at any given place, the boundary of that space around the elevated pole, within which the stars never set. Its distance from the pole is equal to the latitude of the place.

Circle of perpetual occultation, at any given place, the boundary of the space around the depressed pole, within which the stars never rise.

Circle of the sphere, a circle upon the surface of the sphere, called a great circle when its plane passes through the center of the sphere; in all other cases, a small circle.

Diurnal circle. See under Diurnal.

Dress circle, a gallery in a theater, generally the one containing the prominent and more expensive seats.

Druidical circles (Eng. Antiq.), a popular name for certain ancient inclosures formed by rude stones circularly arranged, as at Stonehenge, near Salisbury.

Family circle, a gallery in a theater, usually one containing inexpensive seats.

Horary circles (Dialing), the lines on dials which show the hours.

Osculating circle of a curve (Geom.), the circle which touches the curve at some point in the curve, and close to the point more nearly coincides with the curve than any other circle. This circle is used as a measure of the curvature of the curve at the point, and hence is called circle of curvature.

Pitch circle. See under Pitch.

Vertical circle, an azimuth circle.

Voltaic circle or circuit. See under Circuit.

To square the circle. See under Square.

Syn: Ring; circlet; compass; circuit; inclosure.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Circle

Cir"cle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Circled; p. pr. & vb. n. Circling.] [OE. cerclen, F. cercler, fr. L. circulare to make round. See Circle, n., and cf. Circulate.]

1. To move around; to revolve around.

Other planets circle other suns. --Pope.

2. To encompass, as by a circle; to surround; to inclose; to encircle. --Prior. Pope.

Their heads are circled with a short turban. --Dampier.

So he lies, circled with evil. --Coleridge.

To circle in, to confine; to hem in; to keep together; as, to circle bodies in. --Sir K. Digby.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Circle

Cir"cle\, v. i. To move circularly; to form a circle; to circulate.

Thy name shall circle round the gaping through. --Byron.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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