"inner circle" meaning in English

See inner circle in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: En-au-inner circle.ogg Forms: inner circles [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} inner circle (plural inner circles)
  1. (idiomatic) The group comprising one's closest friends or associates. Tags: idiomatic Translations (closest of friends): 親密圈子 /亲密圈子 (qīnmì quānzi) (Chinese Mandarin), 核心小圈子 (héxīn xiǎoquānzi) (Chinese Mandarin), lähipiiri (Finnish), cercle rapproché [masculine] (French), cercle restreint [masculine] (French), innerer Zirkel [masculine] (German), engster Zirkel [masculine] (German), आंतरिक घेरा (āntrik gherā) [masculine] (Hindi), आंतरिक चक्र (āntrik cakra) [masculine] (Hindi), wewnętrzny krąg [masculine] (Polish), inre krets [common-gender] (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-inner_circle-en-noun-zXDmxKXq Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hindi translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Collectives Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 72 17 10 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 70 9 21 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 83 5 12 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 85 5 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 66 13 21 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 71 8 21 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 66 13 21 Disambiguation of Terms with Hindi translations: 57 27 16 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 61 19 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 64 12 24 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 69 12 20 Disambiguation of Collectives: 52 41 7 Disambiguation of 'closest of friends': 80 13 7
  2. (idiomatic, business, government, politics) A small, exclusive group of people close to the center of power who control a movement, organization, political party, etc. Tags: idiomatic Translations (people close to the center of power): 核心小集團 /核心小集团 (héxīn xiǎojítuán) (Chinese Mandarin), 權力核心圈 /权力核心圈 (Chinese Mandarin), lähipiiri (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-inner_circle-en-noun-x3aTjVXx Categories (other): Business, Government, Politics Topics: business, government, politics Disambiguation of 'people close to the center of power': 1 98 1
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see inner, circle.
    Sense id: en-inner_circle-en-noun-NVhiWGIg

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "inner circles",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "inner circle (plural inner circles)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "72 17 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "70 9 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "83 5 12",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "85 5 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "66 13 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "71 8 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "66 13 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "57 27 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hindi translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "61 19 19",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "64 12 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "69 12 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "52 41 7",
          "kind": "other",
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          "name": "Collectives",
          "orig": "en:Collectives",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The group comprising one's closest friends or associates."
      ],
      "id": "en-inner_circle-en-noun-zXDmxKXq",
      "links": [
        [
          "comprising",
          "comprise"
        ],
        [
          "friend",
          "friend"
        ],
        [
          "associate",
          "associate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) The group comprising one's closest friends or associates."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "qīnmì quānzi",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "word": "親密圈子 /亲密圈子"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "héxīn xiǎoquānzi",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "word": "核心小圈子"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "word": "lähipiiri"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "cercle rapproché"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "cercle restreint"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "innerer Zirkel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "engster Zirkel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "lang_code": "hi",
          "roman": "āntrik gherā",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "आंतरिक घेरा"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "lang_code": "hi",
          "roman": "āntrik cakra",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "आंतरिक चक्र"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "wewnętrzny krąg"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "80 13 7",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "lang_code": "sv",
          "sense": "closest of friends",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "inre krets"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Business",
          "orig": "en:Business",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Government",
          "orig": "en:Government",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Politics",
          "orig": "en:Politics",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              102,
              114
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1921, Edward W. Bok, The Americanization of Edward Bok:",
          "text": "It was upon his return to London that Bok learned, through the confidence of a member of the British “inner circle,” the amazing news that the war was practically over: that Bulgaria had capitulated and was suing for peace; […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
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          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              84,
              96
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2023 October 5, Victoria Bekiempis, “FTX co-founder testifies he committed crimes with Sam Bankman-Fried”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Sassoon used the close relationship of Yedidia and Bankman-Fried to explore the FTX inner circle’s luxe lifestyle and allege how it hid a house of cards.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              70,
              82
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 July 10, Jesus Mesa, “'We've Been Played': MAGA Faces Its Own Disappointment With Trump”, in Newsweek:",
          "text": "The idea of an alleged Epstein \"list\" was turbocharged by Trump's own inner circle, most notably by Bondi herself. In a February interview with Fox News, she claimed, \"The list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients is sitting on my desk.\" Her remark, quickly amplified by right-wing influencers, fueled weeks of speculation online and in MAGA circles.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small, exclusive group of people close to the center of power who control a movement, organization, political party, etc."
      ],
      "id": "en-inner_circle-en-noun-x3aTjVXx",
      "links": [
        [
          "business",
          "business"
        ],
        [
          "government",
          "government"
        ],
        [
          "politics",
          "politics"
        ],
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ],
        [
          "exclusive",
          "exclusive"
        ],
        [
          "group",
          "group"
        ],
        [
          "people",
          "people"
        ],
        [
          "center",
          "center"
        ],
        [
          "power",
          "power"
        ],
        [
          "control",
          "control"
        ],
        [
          "movement",
          "movement"
        ],
        [
          "organization",
          "organization"
        ],
        [
          "political party",
          "political party"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, business, government, politics) A small, exclusive group of people close to the center of power who control a movement, organization, political party, etc."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "business",
        "government",
        "politics"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "1 98 1",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "héxīn xiǎojítuán",
          "sense": "people close to the center of power",
          "word": "核心小集團 /核心小集团"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 98 1",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "sense": "people close to the center of power",
          "word": "權力核心圈 /权力核心圈"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 98 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "people close to the center of power",
          "word": "lähipiiri"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see inner, circle."
      ],
      "id": "en-inner_circle-en-noun-NVhiWGIg",
      "links": [
        [
          "inner",
          "inner#English"
        ],
        [
          "circle",
          "circle#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-inner circle.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/76/En-au-inner_circle.ogg/En-au-inner_circle.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/En-au-inner_circle.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "inner circle"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Hindi translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "en:Collectives"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "inner circles",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "inner circle (plural inner circles)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The group comprising one's closest friends or associates."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "comprising",
          "comprise"
        ],
        [
          "friend",
          "friend"
        ],
        [
          "associate",
          "associate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) The group comprising one's closest friends or associates."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Business",
        "en:Government",
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              114
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          "ref": "1921, Edward W. Bok, The Americanization of Edward Bok:",
          "text": "It was upon his return to London that Bok learned, through the confidence of a member of the British “inner circle,” the amazing news that the war was practically over: that Bulgaria had capitulated and was suing for peace; […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              84,
              96
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2023 October 5, Victoria Bekiempis, “FTX co-founder testifies he committed crimes with Sam Bankman-Fried”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Sassoon used the close relationship of Yedidia and Bankman-Fried to explore the FTX inner circle’s luxe lifestyle and allege how it hid a house of cards.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              70,
              82
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 July 10, Jesus Mesa, “'We've Been Played': MAGA Faces Its Own Disappointment With Trump”, in Newsweek:",
          "text": "The idea of an alleged Epstein \"list\" was turbocharged by Trump's own inner circle, most notably by Bondi herself. In a February interview with Fox News, she claimed, \"The list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients is sitting on my desk.\" Her remark, quickly amplified by right-wing influencers, fueled weeks of speculation online and in MAGA circles.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small, exclusive group of people close to the center of power who control a movement, organization, political party, etc."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "business",
          "business"
        ],
        [
          "government",
          "government"
        ],
        [
          "politics",
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        [
          "small",
          "small"
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        [
          "exclusive",
          "exclusive"
        ],
        [
          "group",
          "group"
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        [
          "people",
          "people"
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        [
          "center",
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        [
          "power",
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        [
          "control",
          "control"
        ],
        [
          "movement",
          "movement"
        ],
        [
          "organization",
          "organization"
        ],
        [
          "political party",
          "political party"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, business, government, politics) A small, exclusive group of people close to the center of power who control a movement, organization, political party, etc."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "business",
        "government",
        "politics"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see inner, circle."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "inner",
          "inner#English"
        ],
        [
          "circle",
          "circle#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-inner circle.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/76/En-au-inner_circle.ogg/En-au-inner_circle.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/En-au-inner_circle.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "qīnmì quānzi",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "word": "親密圈子 /亲密圈子"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "héxīn xiǎoquānzi",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "word": "核心小圈子"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "word": "lähipiiri"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "cercle rapproché"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "cercle restreint"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "innerer Zirkel"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "engster Zirkel"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "lang_code": "hi",
      "roman": "āntrik gherā",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "आंतरिक घेरा"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "lang_code": "hi",
      "roman": "āntrik cakra",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "आंतरिक चक्र"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "wewnętrzny krąg"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "sense": "closest of friends",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "inre krets"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "héxīn xiǎojítuán",
      "sense": "people close to the center of power",
      "word": "核心小集團 /核心小集团"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "sense": "people close to the center of power",
      "word": "權力核心圈 /权力核心圈"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "people close to the center of power",
      "word": "lähipiiri"
    }
  ],
  "word": "inner circle"
}

Download raw JSONL data for inner circle meaning in English (5.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-04-01 using wiktextract (7de0cf9 and 9452535). 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.