circling 1 of 2

adjective

as in swirling

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

circling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of circle
1
as in surrounding
to form a circle around everyone circled the lectern and waited their turn to read from the Bible

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in orbiting
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 circling
Verb
Due to a combination of circling real estate developers and personal financial crises, the Pogues’ homes are under threat. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026 The film premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section to rave reviews and a lengthy standing ovation before buyers quickly started circling and A24 emerged with the worldwide rights. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026 Thanksgiving always has produced an interesting dynamic with five tall, energetic kids circling for a turkey leg. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 These are two companies that have been circling each other seemingly somewhat in competition. — Max Tani, semafor.com, 14 Aug. 2026 In fact, Murai was nervous about pulling off such a long scene of an actor effectively just reading out names and circling them with a marker pen. — Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026 Related Stories The series follows Jimmy Frank (Franco), an eccentric ad agency CEO who projects confidence and humor while contending with risk and unresolved fallout from his past, including criminal and supernatural threats circling his company. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026 After a summer of fits and starts, with multibillion dollar developments circling the city, Fort Worth took major steps on Tuesday to regulate and limit the growth of data centers — with a potential moratorium now taking shape. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Aug. 2026 One witness said rescue crews could be seen circling around a life jacket at one point. — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circling
  1. swirling
  2. surrounding
  3. orbiting
  4. spiral
  5. encircling
  6. traversing
  7. spiraling
  8. crossing
Adjective
  • After that feral beginning, the rest of the album is mostly contemplative, wistful, and understated, amid cascading guitars and various sounds that are at times acoustic or gently swirling.
    — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The spacecraft is designed to survive temperatures approaching -290°F (-179°C), methane rainfall and swirling hydrocarbon dust.
    — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of swirling
Verb
  • Additional details surrounding the circumstances of the crash or identity of the person who died was not provided.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The Mob Museum in Las Vegas has been fielding questions and debunking misinformation surrounding the case for years, said Geoff Schumacher, the museum’s vice president of research, collections and programs.
    — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of surrounding
Verb
  • The lunar eclipse also may be visible to Hathaway and the nine other people living off the planet — seven astronauts at the International Space Station and three aboard China’s orbiting outpost.
    — Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The lunar eclipse may also be visible to Hathaway and the nine other people living off the planet — seven astronauts at the International Space Station and three aboard China’s orbiting outpost.
    — Marcia Dunn, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of orbiting
Adjective
  • Queen conchs live in spiral, sandy-colored shells with a bright pink or orange interior.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The macroscale spiral shape emerges somehow from how those fibrils organize themselves.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of spiral
Verb
  • Its signature Hémisphère features fine grooves encircling each plate like rings around a planet.
    — Angela Tafoya, Architectural Digest, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The zoning resolution for the Manhattanville extension explicitly forbids encircling any of the outdoor spaces with gates or fences.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of encircling
Verb
  • These memorable rail journeys - one in Canada, two in the United States - offer up incredible panroamas, city stops, mountains and forests, traversing long distances across the continent.
    — Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Paul Anthony Kelly looks comfortable traversing both fantasies.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of traversing
Adjective
  • Aside from a spiraling Wanda, there was also an onslaught of high-profile cameos, which almost felt like fandom wish fulfillment designed to keep us entertained when Wanda wasn’t around.
    — EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The basic idea is that when anxiety spikes, pulling out a few sensory-engaging items can stave off panic by interrupting spiraling thoughts.
    — Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Definition of spiraling
Verb
  • It's been 17 years since Byers surveyed glacial lakes in the Himalayas and ran into a television crew just after crossing an 18,000-foot pass.
    — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • From Hermon Park, head south, crossing Via Marisol from the crosswalk.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of crossing

Browse Nearby Words

circlets
circling
circuit
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of kith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All