as in swirling
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of circling
Xuan Juliana Wang, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
The character prompted a Hollywood backlash and global media storm last September after Van der Velden revealed in panel in the industry focused Zurich Summit that agents were circling the AI creation for representation.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 10 Mar. 2026
The late-season fruits are incredibly showy, arranged in dense clusters circling the stems.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 9 Mar. 2026
Dimorphos and Didymos are a binary pair, meaning that the asteroids orbit one another while also circling the sun — and a measurable change for one will affect the other.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 9 Mar. 2026
Private equity is circling college athletics like road kill, but sustainability is always going to be at the forefront of my mind.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 8 Mar. 2026
Now, after the Blue Jackets beat the drain-circling Panthers, Columbus trails the B’s for the second wild-card spot by a single point.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
The pattern is similar in the Southern Hemisphere, with the southern constellations circling clockwise around the south celestial pole.
—Vahe Peroomian, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2026
Consider how satellites reflect sunlight while also circling our planet very quickly.
—Monisha Ravisetti, Space.com, 5 Mar. 2026
Verb
There do not seem to be sharks circling.
—Xuan Juliana Wang, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
The character prompted a Hollywood backlash and global media storm last September after Van der Velden revealed in panel in the industry focused Zurich Summit that agents were circling the AI creation for representation.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 10 Mar. 2026
The late-season fruits are incredibly showy, arranged in dense clusters circling the stems.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 9 Mar. 2026
Dimorphos and Didymos are a binary pair, meaning that the asteroids orbit one another while also circling the sun — and a measurable change for one will affect the other.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 9 Mar. 2026
Private equity is circling college athletics like road kill, but sustainability is always going to be at the forefront of my mind.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 8 Mar. 2026
Now, after the Blue Jackets beat the drain-circling Panthers, Columbus trails the B’s for the second wild-card spot by a single point.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
The pattern is similar in the Southern Hemisphere, with the southern constellations circling clockwise around the south celestial pole.
—Vahe Peroomian, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2026
Consider how satellites reflect sunlight while also circling our planet very quickly.
—Monisha Ravisetti, Space.com, 5 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circling
Adjective
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And, everywhere, warm and cold fronts rub against each other, setting off still more swirling changes.—
Burkhard Bilger,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
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Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse Surrounded by the swirling storms of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, Billie Jo is striving to survive after a terrible accident takes her mother’s life.—
Libby Monteith Minor,
Southern Living,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Not only are the beaches less crowded (but no less beautiful), the surrounding area is also strikingly green and mountainous—especially on the drive in from the airport.—
Annie Daly,
Vogue,
10 Mar. 2026
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Everyone is friendly and happy to provide information about the property and the surrounding area of Tulum.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The orbiting outpost's Canadarm2 grappled Cygnus XL that day, berthing it to the Unity module.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
11 Mar. 2026
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And without a moon-orbiting relay, the far side is cut off from communicating with Earth.—
Lee Billings,
Scientific American,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The war in Iran is driving global inflation concerns as energy costs spiral.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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Calabrese and Meyer, who both trained as mechanical engineers, introduced a spiral shape to their tampon that redirects the fluid to the absorbent core.—
Luisa Beltran,
Sportico.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Soon, that quarter-mile area encircling the Rockridge BART Station may be forced to welcome apartment complexes as tall as 75 feet, or roughly seven stories — more than double the 35-foot limit that the city currently allows.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2026
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The sprawling Discover campus features a complex of four buildings encircling a large retention pond.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The interior of the vehicle continues Lucid’s focus on a spacious cabin with significant storage and a large one-piece screen traversing most of the car’s front dash.—
Michael Wayland,
CNBC,
12 Mar. 2026
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The number of oil tankers traversing the strait has been in the single digits or zero each day for the past week, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, compared to about 50 per day prior to the war.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Violent confrontations targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota are being driven by outside actors exploiting chaos, not organic protest, according to a protest insider warning that the situation is rapidly spiraling.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Demonstrations broke out over the near-collapse of the rial and spiraling economic conditions but grew to become a larger movement against the regime.—
Sara Dorn,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Around the same time, a flight to Bangkok from Helsinki had to reroute south, crossing the Middle East.—
Zach Levitt,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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What Iran decides to do remains uncertain, but experts say a concerted attack on desalination plants would be crossing a clear red line.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Circling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circling. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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