circle noun
1 shape
ADJ. complete, full The stones form a complete circle. How long does it take for the dial to rotate through a full circle? | concentric | widening The water rippled in widening circles round the fountain. | overlapping a design of overlapping circles | tight He turned the car in a tight circle. | half | Antarctic, Arctic, polar
VERB + CIRCLE draw | describe (technical), go around/round in If you follow the road signs you will simply find yourself going round in a circle. | form, make | cut out
PREP. in a/the ~ The children stood in a circle. The planets move in circles round the sun. | ~ of
PHRASES the area/circumference/diameter/radius of a circle, the centre/middle of a circle
2 group of people
ADJ. wide She has a wide circle of acquaintances. | narrow, small | charmed, close/closed, intimate, magic, select He invited only a select circle of friends to the wedding. | exalted, high | immediate They treat anyone outside their immediate circle with suspicion. | inner He's joined the inner circles of the court early in his career. | academic, aristocratic, artistic, business, court, diplomatic, government, intellectual, literary, official, political, royal, social, sporting, theatrical ~s She moves in the highest social circles. | family
VERB + CIRCLE have | move in My brother and I move in completely different circles (= we have very different friends). | join | widen You need to widen your circle of friends.
PREP. in a/the ~ Talk of religion was forbidden in the family circle. friends in government circles
PHRASES a circle of acquaintances/admirers/friends
3 in a theatre
ADJ. dress, upper Our seats are in the front row of the dress circle.
circle verb
1 move in a circle
ADV. slowly The helicopter was circling slowly, very low. | overhead A buzzard was circling overhead.
PREP. above Several airliners were circling above the airport. | around/round The vultures were already circling around the dead animal.
2 draw a circle round sth
PHRASES circle sth in black, red, etc. She circled her birthday in red on the calendar.
You can also check other dicts: circle (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition