"circulate" meaning in English

See circulate in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /ˈsɜː.kjʊˌleɪt/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈsɝ.kjʊˌleɪt/ [General-American] Audio: En-us-circulate.ogg [US] Forms: circulates [present, singular, third-person], circulating [participle, present], circulated [participle, past], circulated [past]
enPR: sər'kyo͝o-lāt Etymology: Borrowed from Late Latin circulātus, perfect passive participle of Late Latin circulō (“to make circular, encircle”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), a later collateral form of circulor (“form a circle (of men) around oneself”), from circulus (“a circle”). See also Middle English circulat(e) (“(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel”). Etymology templates: {{bor+|en|la-lat|circulātus}} Borrowed from Late Latin circulātus, {{glossary|perfect}} perfect, {{glossary|passive}} passive, {{glossary|participle}} participle, {{der|en|la-lat|circulō||to make circular, encircle}} Late Latin circulō (“to make circular, encircle”), {{af|en|-ate|id1=verb|pos1=verb-forming suffix}} -ate (verb-forming suffix), {{cog|enm|circulat|circulat(e)|t=(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel}} Middle English circulat(e) (“(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel”) Head templates: {{en-verb}} circulate (third-person singular simple present circulates, present participle circulating, simple past and past participle circulated)
  1. (intransitive) To move in circles or through a circuit. Tags: intransitive Translations (to move in circles): обикалям (obikaljam) (Bulgarian), кръжа (krăža) (Bulgarian), 环绕 (Chinese Mandarin), obíhat (Czech), cirkuladi (Esperanto), kiertää (Finnish), pyöriä (Finnish), circuler (French), circular (Galician), הסתובב (histovév) (Hebrew), circolare (Italian), circumrotō (Latin), кружи (kruži) (Macedonian), circular (Portuguese), cercui (Romanian), a face cercuri (Romanian), circular (Spanish), roldar (Spanish), cirkulera (Swedish), หมุนเวียน (mǔn-wiian) (Thai)
    Sense id: en-circulate-en-verb-ST4nGz6d Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ate (verb), Entries with translation boxes, Terms with Albanian translations, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Galician translations, Terms with Hebrew translations, Terms with Irish translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Latin translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Ottoman Turkish translations, Terms with Romanian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Turkish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 44 34 7 3 6 6 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ate (verb): 30 22 12 9 16 12 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 49 34 4 4 5 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Albanian translations: 42 29 6 5 10 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 42 29 6 5 10 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 43 30 6 6 8 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 42 29 6 5 10 7 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 38 27 8 8 10 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Galician translations: 42 29 6 5 10 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Hebrew translations: 42 29 6 5 10 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Irish translations: 42 29 6 5 11 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 46 32 5 5 6 6 Disambiguation of Terms with Latin translations: 43 30 6 6 8 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 39 27 9 5 11 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Ottoman Turkish translations: 37 26 6 5 15 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Romanian translations: 40 28 6 5 11 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 42 29 7 6 8 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 42 29 6 6 10 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 42 29 6 6 10 7 Disambiguation of 'to move in circles': 56 39 2 1 1 1
  2. (transitive) To cause (a person or thing) to move in circles or through a circuit. Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-circulate-en-verb-xqI86tLt Categories (other): Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Macedonian translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Thai translations Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 26 37 23 3 6 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Macedonian translations: 26 37 23 3 6 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 24 34 22 11 6 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Thai translations: 27 37 22 3 6 4
  3. (intransitive) To move from person to person, as at a party. Tags: intransitive Translations (to move from person to person): kiertää (Finnish), кружи (kruži) (Macedonian)
    Sense id: en-circulate-en-verb--STtMqPx Disambiguation of 'to move from person to person': 4 16 78 0 0 1
  4. (transitive) To spread or disseminate. Tags: transitive Translations (to spread or disseminate): qarkulloj (Albanian), разпространявам (razprostranjavam) (Bulgarian), šířit (Czech), levittää (Finnish), הפיץ (hefíts) (Hebrew), scaip (Irish), یایمق (yaymak) (Ottoman Turkish), แพร่ (prɛ̂ɛ) (Thai), แพร่กระจาย (Thai), yaymak (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-circulate-en-verb-CI1roZJX Categories (other): English terms with collocations Disambiguation of 'to spread or disseminate': 2 1 0 95 1 1
  5. (intransitive) To become widely known. Tags: intransitive
    Sense id: en-circulate-en-verb-qaM9lR7F
  6. (mathematics, intransitive) Of decimals: to repeat. Tags: intransitive
    Sense id: en-circulate-en-verb-GIWs-GES Categories (other): Mathematics Topics: mathematics, sciences
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: put about, spread, disseminate Derived forms: circulatable, circulation, circulative, circulator, cocirculate, intercirculate, miscirculate, recirculate Translations (to cause to move in circles): kierittää (Finnish), pyörittää (Finnish), סובב (sovév) (Hebrew)
Disambiguation of 'to cause to move in circles': 46 50 2 1 1 1

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "circulatable"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "circulation"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "circulative"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "circulator"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "cocirculate"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "intercirculate"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "miscirculate"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "recirculate"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "circulātus"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Late Latin circulātus",
      "name": "bor+"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "perfect"
      },
      "expansion": "perfect",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "passive"
      },
      "expansion": "passive",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "participle"
      },
      "expansion": "participle",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "circulō",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to make circular, encircle"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin circulō (“to make circular, encircle”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ate",
        "id1": "verb",
        "pos1": "verb-forming suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "-ate (verb-forming suffix)",
      "name": "af"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "circulat",
        "3": "circulat(e)",
        "t": "(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English circulat(e) (“(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Late Latin circulātus, perfect passive participle of Late Latin circulō (“to make circular, encircle”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), a later collateral form of circulor (“form a circle (of men) around oneself”), from circulus (“a circle”). See also Middle English circulat(e) (“(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "circulates",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "circulating",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "circulated",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "circulated",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "circulate (third-person singular simple present circulates, present participle circulating, simple past and past participle circulated)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "44 34 7 3 6 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 22 12 9 16 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ate (verb)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "49 34 4 4 5 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 6 5 10 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Albanian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 6 5 10 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "43 30 6 6 8 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Esperanto translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 6 5 10 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "38 27 8 8 10 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 6 5 10 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Galician translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 6 5 10 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hebrew translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 6 5 11 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Irish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "46 32 5 5 6 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "43 30 6 6 8 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Latin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "39 27 9 5 11 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 26 6 5 15 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Ottoman Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 28 6 5 11 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Romanian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 7 6 8 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 6 6 10 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 6 6 10 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To move in circles or through a circuit."
      ],
      "id": "en-circulate-en-verb-ST4nGz6d",
      "links": [
        [
          "move",
          "move"
        ],
        [
          "circle",
          "circle"
        ],
        [
          "circuit",
          "circuit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To move in circles or through a circuit."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "obikaljam",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "обикалям"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "krăža",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "кръжа"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "环绕"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "lang_code": "cs",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "obíhat"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "lang_code": "eo",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "cirkuladi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "kiertää"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "pyöriä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "circuler"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "lang_code": "gl",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "circular"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "lang_code": "he",
          "roman": "histovév",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "הסתובב"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "circolare"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "lang_code": "la",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "circumrotō"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "lang_code": "mk",
          "roman": "kruži",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "кружи"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "circular"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "lang_code": "ro",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "cercui"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "lang_code": "ro",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "a face cercuri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "circular"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "roldar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "lang_code": "sv",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "cirkulera"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "56 39 2 1 1 1",
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "lang_code": "th",
          "roman": "mǔn-wiian",
          "sense": "to move in circles",
          "word": "หมุนเวียน"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "26 37 23 3 6 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "26 37 23 3 6 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Macedonian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "24 34 22 11 6 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 37 22 3 6 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Thai translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause (a person or thing) to move in circles or through a circuit."
      ],
      "id": "en-circulate-en-verb-xqI86tLt",
      "links": [
        [
          "circle",
          "circle"
        ],
        [
          "circuit",
          "circuit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To cause (a person or thing) to move in circles or through a circuit."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              62,
              73
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "In both the 2005 and 2013 papal elections there were whispers circulating that back in 1976 Francis had failed to help the two priests in their hour of need.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To move from person to person, as at a party."
      ],
      "id": "en-circulate-en-verb--STtMqPx",
      "links": [
        [
          "person",
          "person"
        ],
        [
          "party",
          "party"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To move from person to person, as at a party."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 16 78 0 0 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "to move from person to person",
          "word": "kiertää"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 16 78 0 0 1",
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "lang_code": "mk",
          "roman": "kruži",
          "sense": "to move from person to person",
          "word": "кружи"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with collocations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              3,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "to circulate money or gossip",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To spread or disseminate."
      ],
      "id": "en-circulate-en-verb-CI1roZJX",
      "links": [
        [
          "spread",
          "spread"
        ],
        [
          "disseminate",
          "disseminate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To spread or disseminate."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "sq",
          "lang": "Albanian",
          "lang_code": "sq",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "qarkulloj"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "razprostranjavam",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "разпространявам"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "lang_code": "cs",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "šířit"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "levittää"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "lang_code": "he",
          "roman": "hefíts",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "הפיץ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "lang_code": "ga",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "scaip"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "lang_code": "th",
          "roman": "prɛ̂ɛ",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "แพร่"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "lang_code": "th",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "แพร่กระจาย"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "lang_code": "tr",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "yaymak"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 1 0 95 1 1",
          "code": "ota",
          "lang": "Ottoman Turkish",
          "lang_code": "ota",
          "roman": "yaymak",
          "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
          "word": "یایمق"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "To become widely known."
      ],
      "id": "en-circulate-en-verb-qaM9lR7F",
      "links": [
        [
          "widely",
          "widely"
        ],
        [
          "known",
          "known"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To become widely known."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Mathematics",
          "orig": "en:Mathematics",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              2,
              13
            ]
          ],
          "text": "a circulating decimal",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Of decimals: to repeat."
      ],
      "id": "en-circulate-en-verb-GIWs-GES",
      "links": [
        [
          "mathematics",
          "mathematics"
        ],
        [
          "decimal",
          "decimal"
        ],
        [
          "repeat",
          "repeat"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(mathematics, intransitive) Of decimals: to repeat."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "mathematics",
        "sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "sər'kyo͝o-lāt"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsɜː.kjʊˌleɪt/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsɝ.kjʊˌleɪt/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-circulate.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-us-circulate.ogg/En-us-circulate.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-us-circulate.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "put about"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "spread"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "disseminate"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "_dis1": "46 50 2 1 1 1",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to cause to move in circles",
      "word": "kierittää"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 50 2 1 1 1",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to cause to move in circles",
      "word": "pyörittää"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 50 2 1 1 1",
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "lang_code": "he",
      "roman": "sovév",
      "sense": "to cause to move in circles",
      "word": "סובב"
    }
  ],
  "word": "circulate"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms borrowed from Late Latin",
    "English terms derived from Late Latin",
    "English terms suffixed with -ate (verb)",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 4 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Requests for review of Esperanto translations",
    "Requests for review of French translations",
    "Terms with Albanian translations",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Galician translations",
    "Terms with Hebrew translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Latin translations",
    "Terms with Macedonian translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Ottoman Turkish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Romanian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Thai translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "circulatable"
    },
    {
      "word": "circulation"
    },
    {
      "word": "circulative"
    },
    {
      "word": "circulator"
    },
    {
      "word": "cocirculate"
    },
    {
      "word": "intercirculate"
    },
    {
      "word": "miscirculate"
    },
    {
      "word": "recirculate"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "circulātus"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Late Latin circulātus",
      "name": "bor+"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "perfect"
      },
      "expansion": "perfect",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "passive"
      },
      "expansion": "passive",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "participle"
      },
      "expansion": "participle",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "circulō",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to make circular, encircle"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin circulō (“to make circular, encircle”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ate",
        "id1": "verb",
        "pos1": "verb-forming suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "-ate (verb-forming suffix)",
      "name": "af"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "circulat",
        "3": "circulat(e)",
        "t": "(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English circulat(e) (“(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Late Latin circulātus, perfect passive participle of Late Latin circulō (“to make circular, encircle”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), a later collateral form of circulor (“form a circle (of men) around oneself”), from circulus (“a circle”). See also Middle English circulat(e) (“(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "circulates",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "circulating",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "circulated",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "circulated",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "circulate (third-person singular simple present circulates, present participle circulating, simple past and past participle circulated)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To move in circles or through a circuit."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "move",
          "move"
        ],
        [
          "circle",
          "circle"
        ],
        [
          "circuit",
          "circuit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To move in circles or through a circuit."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause (a person or thing) to move in circles or through a circuit."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "circle",
          "circle"
        ],
        [
          "circuit",
          "circuit"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To cause (a person or thing) to move in circles or through a circuit."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              62,
              73
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "In both the 2005 and 2013 papal elections there were whispers circulating that back in 1976 Francis had failed to help the two priests in their hour of need.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To move from person to person, as at a party."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "person",
          "person"
        ],
        [
          "party",
          "party"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To move from person to person, as at a party."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with collocations",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              3,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "to circulate money or gossip",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To spread or disseminate."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "spread",
          "spread"
        ],
        [
          "disseminate",
          "disseminate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To spread or disseminate."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To become widely known."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "widely",
          "widely"
        ],
        [
          "known",
          "known"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To become widely known."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "en:Mathematics"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              2,
              13
            ]
          ],
          "text": "a circulating decimal",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Of decimals: to repeat."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "mathematics",
          "mathematics"
        ],
        [
          "decimal",
          "decimal"
        ],
        [
          "repeat",
          "repeat"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(mathematics, intransitive) Of decimals: to repeat."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "mathematics",
        "sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "sər'kyo͝o-lāt"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsɜː.kjʊˌleɪt/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsɝ.kjʊˌleɪt/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-circulate.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-us-circulate.ogg/En-us-circulate.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-us-circulate.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "put about"
    },
    {
      "word": "spread"
    },
    {
      "word": "disseminate"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "obikaljam",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "обикалям"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "krăža",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "кръжа"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "环绕"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "lang_code": "cs",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "obíhat"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "cirkuladi"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "kiertää"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "pyöriä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "circuler"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "lang_code": "gl",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "circular"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "lang_code": "he",
      "roman": "histovév",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "הסתובב"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "circolare"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "lang_code": "la",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "circumrotō"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "lang_code": "mk",
      "roman": "kruži",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "кружи"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "circular"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "lang_code": "ro",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "cercui"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "lang_code": "ro",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "a face cercuri"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "circular"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "roldar"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "cirkulera"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "lang_code": "th",
      "roman": "mǔn-wiian",
      "sense": "to move in circles",
      "word": "หมุนเวียน"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to cause to move in circles",
      "word": "kierittää"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to cause to move in circles",
      "word": "pyörittää"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "lang_code": "he",
      "roman": "sovév",
      "sense": "to cause to move in circles",
      "word": "סובב"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to move from person to person",
      "word": "kiertää"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "lang_code": "mk",
      "roman": "kruži",
      "sense": "to move from person to person",
      "word": "кружи"
    },
    {
      "code": "sq",
      "lang": "Albanian",
      "lang_code": "sq",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "qarkulloj"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "razprostranjavam",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "разпространявам"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "lang_code": "cs",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "šířit"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "levittää"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "lang_code": "he",
      "roman": "hefíts",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "הפיץ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "lang_code": "ga",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "scaip"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "lang_code": "th",
      "roman": "prɛ̂ɛ",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "แพร่"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "lang_code": "th",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "แพร่กระจาย"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "lang_code": "tr",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "yaymak"
    },
    {
      "code": "ota",
      "lang": "Ottoman Turkish",
      "lang_code": "ota",
      "roman": "yaymak",
      "sense": "to spread or disseminate",
      "word": "یایمق"
    }
  ],
  "word": "circulate"
}

Download raw JSONL data for circulate meaning in English (10.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-08-12 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-08-05 using wiktextract (be32728 and 4deed51). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.