recirculate

verb

re·​cir·​cu·​late (ˌ)rē-ˈsər-kyə-ˌlāt 

recirculated; recirculating; recirculates

transitive + intransitive

1

: to circulate or cause to circulate again

According to the organization, between two and four times more money recirculates in the local community when people shop at small businesses.

—Christina Hepner

The system will recirculate 99 percent of the water that enters the tanks …

—Nick McCrea

2

: to circulate continuously

Along a slope, a peaceful water feature surrounded by rocks offers the tranquil sounds of water recirculating between two ponds.

—Kelli Adanick

He uses an American Hydroponics system that recirculates water and nutrients through the plants' root systems, allowing them to grow without soil.

—Alana Melanson

Examples of recirculate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Keep your windows and doors closed and recirculate ventilation systems. —Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026

Residents are asked to only wash vehicles at commercial car washes that recirculate water. —American-Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 4 Mar. 2026

The rest is dormant until stress, pregnancy, lactation or other events like aging prompt it to leach out and recirculate in the body, causing issues like heart disease. —Suzanne King, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2026

OpenAI’s own 800-acre data center complex in Abilene, Texas, will reportedly use water, albeit in a more efficient, closed-loop system that continuously recirculates water, the Texas Tribune reported. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1716, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for recirculate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate