circulation

noun cir·cu·la·tion \ ˌsər-kyə-ˈlā-shən \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of circulation

1 : orderly movement through a circuit; especially : the movement of blood through the vessels of the body induced by the pumping action of the heart

2 : flow

3 a : passage or transmission from person to person or place to place; especially : the interchange of currency

coins in circulation

b : the extent of dissemination: such as

(1) : the average number of copies of a publication sold over a given period

(2) : the total number of items borrowed from a library

See circulation defined for English-language learners

See circulation defined for kids

Examples of circulation in a Sentence

He has bad circulation in his legs.
The drug improves blood circulation.
The attic has poor air circulation.
the circulation of ocean waters
Let's open the windows to get some circulation in here.
This memo is not meant for circulation.
The coins have recently entered circulation.

Recent Examples of circulation from the Web

The Post, which serves a city of some 700,000 residents, has a weekday circulation of an estimated 170,000 and 8.6 million unique monthly visitors to its website.

— sydney ember, BostonGlobe.com, "Denver Post, gutted by layoffs, prints a rebuke of its owners," 8 Apr. 2018
The Post, which serves a city of some 700,000 residents, has a weekday circulation of an estimated 170,000 and 8.6 million unique monthly visitors to its website.

— sydney ember, New York Times, "Denver Post Rebels Against Its Hedge-Fund Ownership," 7 Apr. 2018
One of its members, William Harvey, discovered the circulation of the blood in the early 17th century.

— yoram hazony, WSJ, "The Dark Side of the Enlightenment," 6 Apr. 2018
The East African Rift is described as an active type of rift, in which the source of these stresses lies in the circulation of the underlying mantle.

— lucia perez diaz, CNN, "Big crack evidence East Africa could be splitting in two," 5 Apr. 2018
In September 2017, police agents from the French anticorruption body (OCLCIFF) gave judges a report that pointed to an undeclared circulation of cash among people working in the Sarkozy campaign.

— samantha ketterer, Houston Chronicle, "Two ex-cops among 22 arrested in money laundering investigation," 28 Mar. 2018
These rapid changes probably affected the local climate and the circulation of Atlantic seawater, Micallef and his team propose.

— katherine kornei, Scientific American, "A Megaflood-Powered Mile-High Waterfall Refilled the Mediterranean [Video]," 26 Mar. 2018
Sea ice in the Arctic also helps regulate the planet’s temperature by influencing the circulation of the atmosphere.

— doyle rice, USA TODAY, "Arctic sea ice nears all-time record wintertime low," 26 Mar. 2018
Figures released this month showed that Metro now has the largest circulation of any British newspaper, with 1.5m copies handed out every weekday.

— The Economist, "The Sun is toppled as Britain’s biggest newspaper," 22 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'circulation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of circulation

1535

CIRCULATION Defined for English Language Learners

circulation

noun

Definition of circulation for English Language Learners

: the movement of blood through the body that is caused by the pumping action of the heart
: movement of air, water, etc., through the different parts of something
: the act of passing something (such as money, information, etc.) from person to person or place to place : the state of being passed from person to person or place to place

CIRCULATION Defined for Kids

circulation

noun cir·cu·la·tion \ ˌsər-kyə-ˈlā-shən \

Definition of circulation for Students

1 : movement through something

A fan will improve the circulation of air in the room.

2 : passage from place to place or person to person

coins in circulation

3 : the average number of copies (as of a newspaper) sold in a given period

Medical Dictionary

circulation

noun cir·cu·la·tion \ ˌsər-kyə-ˈlā-shən \

medical Definition of circulation

: the movement of blood through the vessels of the body that is induced by the pumping action of the heart and serves to distribute nutrients and oxygen to and remove waste products from all parts of the body — see pulmonary circulation, systemic circulation