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11 dictionary results for: circuit
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cir·cuit       [sur-kit] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.an act or instance of going or moving around.
2.a circular journey or one beginning and ending at the same place; a round.
3.a roundabout journey or course.
4.a periodical journey from place to place, to perform certain duties, as by judges to hold court, ministers to preach, or salespeople covering a route.
5.the persons making such a journey.
6.the route followed, places visited, or district covered by such a journey.
7.the line going around or bounding any area or object; the distance about an area or object.
8.the space within a bounding line; district: the circuit of the valley.
9.Electricity.
a.Also called electric circuit. the complete path of an electric current, including the generating apparatus, intervening resistors, or capacitors.
b.any well-defined segment of a complete circuit.
10.Telecommunications. a means of transmitting communication signals or messages, usually comprising two channels for interactive communication. Compare channel1 (def. 12).
11.a number of theaters, nightclubs, etc., controlled by the same owner or manager or visited in turn by the same entertainers or acting companies.
12.a league or association: He used to play baseball for the Texas circuit.
–verb (used with object)
13.to go or move around; make the circuit of.
–verb (used without object)
14.to go or move in a circuit.
—Idiom
15.ride circuit, Law. (of a judge) to travel a judicial county or district in order to conduct judicial proceedings.
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L circuitus, var. of circumitus circular motion, cycle, equiv. to circu(m)i-, var. s. of circu(m)īre to go round, circle (circum- circum- + īre to go) + -tus suffix of v. action; cf. ambit, exit]

—Related forms
cir·cuit·al, adjective

—Synonyms 2. tour, revolution, orbit. 7. circumference, perimeter, periphery, boundary, compass. 8. region, compass, area, range, field. 11. chain.
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·cuit       (sûr'kĭt)  Pronunciation Key 


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n.  
    1. A closed, usually circular line that goes around an object or area.
    2. The region enclosed by such a line. See Synonyms at circumference.
    3. A path or route the complete traversal of which without local change of direction requires returning to the starting point.
    4. The act of following such a path or route.
    5. A journey made on such a path or route.
    6. A closed path followed or capable of being followed by an electric current.
    7. A configuration of electrically or electromagnetically connected components or devices.
    8. A regular or accustomed course from place to place; a round: a salesperson on the Detroit-Minneapolis-Chicago circuit; a popular speaker on the lecture circuit.
    9. The area or district thus covered, especially a territory under the jurisdiction of a judge in which periodic court sessions are held.
    10. An association of theaters in which plays, acts, or films move from theater to theater for presentation.
    11. A group of nightclubs, show halls, or resorts at which entertainers appear in turn.
    12. An association of teams or clubs.
    13. A series of competitions held in different places.
    1. A path or route the complete traversal of which without local change of direction requires returning to the starting point.
    2. The act of following such a path or route.
    3. A journey made on such a path or route.
    4. A closed path followed or capable of being followed by an electric current.
    5. A configuration of electrically or electromagnetically connected components or devices.
    6. A regular or accustomed course from place to place; a round: a salesperson on the Detroit-Minneapolis-Chicago circuit; a popular speaker on the lecture circuit.
    7. The area or district thus covered, especially a territory under the jurisdiction of a judge in which periodic court sessions are held.
    8. An association of theaters in which plays, acts, or films move from theater to theater for presentation.
    9. A group of nightclubs, show halls, or resorts at which entertainers appear in turn.
    10. An association of teams or clubs.
    11. A series of competitions held in different places.
  3. Electronics
    1. A closed path followed or capable of being followed by an electric current.
    2. A configuration of electrically or electromagnetically connected components or devices.
    3. A regular or accustomed course from place to place; a round: a salesperson on the Detroit-Minneapolis-Chicago circuit; a popular speaker on the lecture circuit.
    4. The area or district thus covered, especially a territory under the jurisdiction of a judge in which periodic court sessions are held.
    5. An association of theaters in which plays, acts, or films move from theater to theater for presentation.
    6. A group of nightclubs, show halls, or resorts at which entertainers appear in turn.
    7. An association of teams or clubs.
    8. A series of competitions held in different places.
    1. A regular or accustomed course from place to place; a round: a salesperson on the Detroit-Minneapolis-Chicago circuit; a popular speaker on the lecture circuit.
    2. The area or district thus covered, especially a territory under the jurisdiction of a judge in which periodic court sessions are held.
    3. An association of theaters in which plays, acts, or films move from theater to theater for presentation.
    4. A group of nightclubs, show halls, or resorts at which entertainers appear in turn.
    5. An association of teams or clubs.
    6. A series of competitions held in different places.
    1. An association of theaters in which plays, acts, or films move from theater to theater for presentation.
    2. A group of nightclubs, show halls, or resorts at which entertainers appear in turn.
    3. An association of teams or clubs.
    4. A series of competitions held in different places.

intr. & tr.v.   cir·cuit·ed, cir·cuit·ing, cir·cuits
To make a circuit or circuit of.


[Middle English, circumference, from Old French, from Latin circuitus, a going around, from past participle of circumīre, to go around : circum-, circum- + īre, to go; see ei- in Indo-European roots.]

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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
circuit 
1382, from O.Fr. circuit, from L. circuitus "a going around," from stem of circuire, circumire "go around," from circum "around" + -ire "to go." Electrical sense is from 1800; circuitry is from 1946. Circuitous is from 1664.

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

noun
1. an electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow 
2. a journey or route all the way around a particular place or area; "they took an extended tour of Europe"; "we took a quick circuit of the park"; "a ten-day coach circuit of the island" [syn: tour] 
3. an established itinerary of venues or events that a particular group of people travel to; "she's a familiar name on the club circuit"; "on the lecture circuit"; "the judge makes a circuit of the courts in his district"; "the international tennis circuit" 
4. the boundary line encompassing an area or object; "he had walked the full circumference of his land"; "a danger to all races over the whole circumference of the globe" [syn: circumference] 
5. (law) a judicial division of a state or the United States (so-called because originally judges traveled and held court in different locations); one of the twelve groups of states in the United States that is covered by a particular circuit court of appeals 
6. a racetrack for automobile races [syn: racing circuit] 
7. movement once around a course; "he drove an extra lap just for insurance" [syn: lap] 

verb
1. make a circuit; "They were circuiting about the state" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
circuit       (sûr'kĭt)  Pronunciation Key 


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  1. A closed path through which an electric current flows or may flow. Circuits in which a power source is connected to two or more components (such as light bulbs, or logic gates in a computer circuit), one after the other, are called series circuits. If the circuit is broken, none of the components receives a current. Circuits in which a power source is directly connected to two or more components are called parallel circuits. If a break occurs in the circuit, only the component along whose path the break occurs stops receiving a current.
  2. A system of electrically connected parts or devices.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: cir·cuit
Function: noun
1 a : a route formerly taken by traveling judges b : a district established within a state or the federal judicial system —see also the JUDICIAL SYSTEM in the back matter
2 cap : the court of appeals for a circuit in the federal judicial system Circuit's ruling —V. M. Sher>

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

circuit
1. A communications path in a circuit switching network.
2. A complete path through which an electric current can flow.
The term is used loosely for any device or subsystem using electrical or electronic components. E.g. "That lightning bolt fried the circuits in my GPS receiver". An integrated circuit (IC) contains components built on a Silicon die.
(2002-07-15)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Circuit

Cir"cuit\, n. [F. circuit, fr. L. circuitus, fr. circuire or circumire to go around; circum around + ire to go.]

1. The act of moving or revolving around, or as in a circle or orbit; a revolution; as, the periodical circuit of the earth round the sun. --Watts.

2. The circumference of, or distance round, any space; the measure of a line round an area.

The circuit or compass of Ireland is 1,800 miles. --J. Stow.

3. That which encircles anything, as a ring or crown.

The golden circuit on my head. --Shak.

4. The space inclosed within a circle, or within limits.

A circuit wide inclosed with goodliest trees. --Milton.

5. A regular or appointed journeying from place to place in the exercise of one's calling, as of a judge, or a preacher.

6. (a) (Law) A certain division of a state or country, established by law for a judge or judges to visit, for the administration of justice. --Bouvier. (b) (Methodist Church) A district in which an itinerant preacher labors.

7. Circumlocution. [Obs.] "Thou hast used no circuit of words." --Huloet.

Circuit court (Law), a court which sits successively in different places in its circuit (see Circuit, 6). In the United States, the federal circuit courts are commonly presided over by a judge of the supreme court, or a special circuit judge, together with the judge of the district court. They have jurisdiction within statutory limits, both in law and equity, in matters of federal cognizance. Some of the individual States also have circuit courts, which have general statutory jurisdiction of the same class, in matters of State cognizance.

Circuit or Circuity of action (Law), a longer course of proceedings than is necessary to attain the object in view.

To make a circuit, to go around; to go a roundabout way.

Voltaic or Galvanic circuit or circle, a continous electrical communication between the two poles of a battery; an arrangement of voltaic elements or couples with proper conductors, by which a continuous current of electricity is established.

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

Cir"cuit\, v. i. To move in a circle; to go round; to circulate. [Obs.] --J. Philips.

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

Cir"cuit\, v. t. To travel around. [Obs.] "Having circuited the air." --T. Warton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Circuit

the apparent diurnal revolution of the sun round the earth (Ps. 19:6), and the changes of the wind (Eccl. 1:6). In Job 22:14, "in the circuit of heaven" (R.V. marg., "on the vault of heaven") means the "arch of heaven," which seems to be bent over our heads.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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