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
Cosmic death The unnamed exoplanet was discovered circling the white dwarf HS 0209+0832, according to a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy. — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 9 Oct. 2026 Surveillance video shows three vehicles circling the parking lot before a white Toyota Tacoma barrels through the storefront, shattering glass and sending employees running. — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 Ship stayed up for another three hours, circling Earth multiple times (and deploying those Starlink satellites) before meeting its own watery end in the northern Pacific Ocean. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2026 The black-and-white illustration showed a mother kneeling on the frothing waves’ surface, staring into the face of her naked infant as the Virgin Mary towered above them both, attended by angels circling her head. — Ellen O’Connell Whittet, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026 Animals first experience non-specific signs like vomiting and respiratory distress before progressing to neurologic signs like circling, difficulty walking, behavioral changes, aggression, paralysis, hydrophobia and death. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026 Based on statistical models, the agency estimates there are millions more smaller pieces of space junk circling Earth’s orbit. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026 And that means lots of circling the campus looking for a spot. — Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026 But after circling a few times, the shark spat out the bait, leaving fishermen on the pier stunned. — Jasmine Mendez follow, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circling
  1. swirling
  2. surrounding
  3. orbiting
  4. spiral
  5. encircling
  6. traversing
  7. spiraling
  8. crossing
Adjective
  • The sun has come up to reveal Hurricane Isaias and its swirling clouds above the Gulf’s record-warm water.
    — Kate S. Petersen, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Get ahead of the trend cycle with a swirling cake stand from Fazeek, or add heritage icons, like Bordallo Pinheiro’s cabbage-ware, to your tabletop.
    — Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of swirling
Verb
  • Sepesi hopes the worldwide attention surrounding the Pope's diagnosis will encourage more people to learn about lung cancer.
    — Tori Mason, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • With so much drama surrounding Taverner and Sid, in particular, the episode keeps most of the other characters on the back burner until next week’s finale.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of surrounding
Verb
  • These can profoundly affect our orbiting satellites and power grid, so understanding the sun’s magnetic activity actually very much impacts us here on Earth.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Pioneer 12, also known as the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, spent 14 years orbiting Venus and studying the planet's atmosphere.
    — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of orbiting
Adjective
  • Watching the models spiral down the staircase of what was once home to Barney's New York made each look feel even more thrilling.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026
  • At the start of this school year, Aya’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Naheda, asked for a spiral notebook.
    — Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of spiral
Verb
  • Captured by the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, or SMILE, the footage reveals the full ring of auroral activity encircling Earth's north pole in ultraviolet light, stretching across both the night and day sides of our planet.
    — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Dumas watched, charmed, his arms encircling his wife’s shoulders, and accepted an ice-cream sundae in a silver parfait cup.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of encircling
Verb
  • Oil drops as Hormuz traffic rebounds Oil prices fell as new data showed crude exports from the Middle East surpassed prewar levels, though any respite may be short-lived as attacks on tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz increased.
    — Mary Lawrence Ware, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad operates between Durango and Silverton, traversing the San Juan National Forest and running along the Animas River.
    — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of traversing
Adjective
  • Libfeld brought a massive, spiraling kudu horn to practice with at a recent Torat Emet shofar class.
    — Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of spiraling
Verb
  • Pedestrians crossing the George Washington Bridge once again have a path of their own.
    — Nick Caloway, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Both crossing arms were lowered and warning lights were activated at the Bond Road rail crossing when the man walked onto the tracks and was struck by the train, the Elk Grove Police Department said in a post to social media.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 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 17 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of syncretic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
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
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All