circled

verb

past tense of circle
1
as in surrounded
to form a circle around everyone circled the lectern and waited their turn to read from the Bible

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in orbited
to travel completely around with a look of extreme frustration, the commander circled the new recruit

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of circled Curtis unfolded a map of the museum with eight galleries circled in hot pink. — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2026 As Ohtani circled the bases, the bullpen turned into a mosh pit around Hurt. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026 As the plane circled and prepared to return to the airport and emergency crews assembled, operations workers found the remains of the birds on the runway. — Amanda Jackson, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026 Citing the arrest affidavit, Law&Crime reported that Simpson allegedly approached another boat at a high rate of speed and circled the vessel several times before anchoring about 10 feet away. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2026 In fact, the young actor and his father have circled similar roles before. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Aug. 2026 When things didn’t consistently click with the Baltimore Orioles, the Cubs circled Gausman as a possible change-of-scenery candidate, perhaps the next Jake Arrieta. — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Pestonit pointed to the sky, where vultures circled on the thermals. — Simon Willis, Travel + Leisure, 4 Aug. 2026 Faena staff in luxurious red capes circled around them, serving light bites and cold martinis. — Kenneal Patterson, Vanity Fair, 30 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circled
  1. surrounded
  2. orbited
  3. encircled
  4. traversed
  5. ringed
  6. crossed
  7. rounded
Verb
  • After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.
    — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Will Hichem stay clean, on the right track when he’s surrounded by people involved in illicit deal-making?
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of surrounded
Verb
  • The orientation of the hotspots of Betelgeuse also added support to the idea that the red supergiant star is orbited by an elusive companion star.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon while Michael Collins orbited overhead.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of orbited
Verb
  • Instead of gold watches, silver handcuffs encircled their wrists.
    — Jonny Hallam, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The pair left their vehicle to find assistance, traversing salt flats toward Badwater Road, a two-lane highway encircled by mountains.
    — Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of encircled
Verb
  • The film itself was an odyssey of a shoot, as the cast traversed multiple countries and territories—Scotland, Italy, the Western Sahara, Greece—in all types of weather.
    — Wisdom Iheanyichukwu, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Inside the operation, workers traversed a warehouse-sized maze of shelves, walking as much as 14 to 20 miles a day to fulfill orders.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of traversed
Verb
  • Rent from Kayak Branson to paddle around Lake Taneycomo or Table Rock Lake, both ringed with golden hickory and oak trees.
    — Taryn Shorr-Mckee, Midwest Living, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The fire began Saturday and grew to more than 23 square miles on Sunday across foothills ringed by neighborhoods near the California state line.
    — Haven Daly, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of ringed
Verb
  • Takaichi's remark crossed what China considers a red line in its relations with other countries about Taiwan, which is a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • This summer, and this year, further shows the importance of protecting the theatrical window as the domestic annual box office has crossed the $7 billion mark according to Rentrak.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of crossed
Verb
  • The rest of the cast is rounded out by Mckenna Grace (Daphne), Tanner Hagen (Shaggy), Abby Ryder Fortson (Velma) and Maxwell Jenkins (Fred).
    — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Utrecht in the Netherlands, Penang Island in Malaysia, and Aarhus in Denmark rounded out the ranking.
    — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of rounded

Browse Nearby Words

circle
circled
circles
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Cite this Entry

“Circled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circled. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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