circumnavigate

verb

ˌsər-kəm-ˈna-və-ˌgāt How to pronounce circumnavigate (audio)
Definition of circumnavigatenext
1
as in to traverse
to travel completely around the first ship to circumnavigate the globe

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to bypass
to avoid by going around we can circumnavigate the traffic jam if we take the next exit

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 circumnavigate The first Global Ocean Sampling Expedition, which used Venter’s own yacht, circumnavigated the globe between 2005 and 2006. — Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026 The Apollo 8 photo, however, showed Earth reemerging into view, rather than disappearing, as astronauts Bill Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell circumnavigated the moon. — Denise Chow, NBC news, 7 Apr. 2026 During the 1969 Apollo 10 mission — the one in which Thomas Stafford, John Young and Eugene Cernan circumnavigated the moon — Stafford reported back to mission control on Day 6 of the mission that a piece of waste was floating through the cabin, according to once-confidential government documents. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026 Is there a market for a live-aboard cruise ship that will visit 140 countries and circumnavigate the world? — Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 18 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for circumnavigate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumnavigate
  1. traverse
  2. bypass
  3. circle
  4. circumvent
  5. orbit
  6. avoid
  7. encircle
  8. cross
Verb
  • This ring, traversing the sky for hours after dusk and before dawn, would outshine every star and planet, and be visible from every spot on Earth.
    — Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 20 July 2026
  • The Golden State might be a West Coast utopia, but then Californians live on a fault line that traverses most of it.
    — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026
Definition of traverse
Verb
  • Verify the source of every installer and stop when the instructions ask you to bypass a warning.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026
  • With bots already making up over half of internet traffic, businesses failing to update will be bypassed, losing customers who increasingly send software to interact online.
    — Gene Marks, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of bypass
Verb
  • The Chinese ship circled the Philippine vessel continuously, as its water cannon hit the ship.
    — Ivan Watson, CNN Money, 24 July 2026
  • The already wire-thin line between mother and owner threatens to snap as the saga rages on, and still, Corsini calmly invites you to circle his story’s chaotic cage from every possible angle.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 24 July 2026
Definition of circle
Verb
  • More than a dozen states with sports betting bans on the books have sued Kalshi and Polymarket for allegedly circumventing state laws by running unlicensed, unregulated gambling platforms.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 20 July 2026
  • All some sellers had to do to circumvent automatic takedowns was miscategorize their products so that fewer checks were required before posting dangerous goods.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 20 July 2026
Definition of circumvent
Verb
  • Lewis explained that all these data centers and mirrors would have to orbit Earth in the same orbital plane to have access to constant sunshine.
    — Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 20 July 2026
  • The fact that celebrity landed upon him, plucking him from the obscurity of his mission to represent the burgeoning discourse on the disease, says more about the world that orbited him than his actions on the island or his own political nous.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
Definition of orbit
Verb
  • Arsenal sustained multiple injuries in the goalkeeping department last year, with Manuela Zinsberger sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament issue, and want to avoid a similar situation.
    — Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • Jones hopes the study finds improvements to the current system Charlotte Water works under, and that the state avoids overinvesting into industries that take up a lot of water such as data centers.
    — Zaire Breedlove, Charlotte Observer, 22 July 2026
Definition of avoid
Verb
  • The area along the Cumberland River where more than 100 people once lived is now encircled by fences and no-trespassing signs.
    — Marissa J. Lang, NPR, 21 July 2026
  • The stone is halo-set on a pavé band—jewelry lingo for having a ring of small white diamonds encircling the stone and covering the band.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 21 July 2026
Definition of encircle
Verb
  • Gas first crossed the $4 mark, a psychologically important threshold, on March 31, a month into the conflict.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
  • Previous World Cups were concentrated within one nation, but this year supporters often crossed international borders, making the multi-country experience part of the tournament's appeal.
    — Doug Melville, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of cross

Browse Nearby Words

circumlocutory
circumnavigate
circumnavigated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Circumnavigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumnavigate. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on circumnavigate

Nglish: Translation of circumnavigate for Spanish Speakers

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