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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
  • Both locations put the Houthis within firing distance of any ships that attempt to traverse the narrow strait.
    — Kareem Fahim, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Frith has three friends with her when she’s first seen traversing the marshes.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of traverse
Verb
  • The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is an important alternative for oil exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, especially for Saudi Arabia, whose East-West pipeline allows the kingdom to divert some crude flows to be exported from the Red Sea.
    — Sam Meredith,Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
  • His team managed to pull serious strings to bypass the lengthy waitlist and typical time requirements to secure him a spot in the intensive five-hundred-hour course that can last between nine and twelve months.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of bypass
Verb
  • An exclusive excerpt published by Decibel centers on Cave In and the period surrounding the band’s breakthrough Jupiter, when major labels began circling.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 18 Sep. 2026
  • For the Connington family, it has been circled for much longer.
    — Taylor Eldridge, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of circle
Verb
  • The response indicates that an executive knew of a technical method to circumvent a publisher’s access restriction and employed it at the company.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Going into the process with an informed understanding is critical, then, both to ensure long-term affordability and to circumvent foreclosure risks.
    — Matt Richardson, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of circumvent
Verb
  • That changed in 2013, when a small, dark body orbiting between Saturn and Uranus passed in front of a star and blinked twice on either side of the main event, revealing two narrow rings around an object barely 250 kilometers across.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Naturally, the night called for not one, not two, but three major looks, all orbiting a palette of fall neutrals.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of orbit
Verb
  • Oxygen, neon and magnesium white dwarfs can avoid that destruction thanks to their high densities.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • That law — the Employee Retirement Income Security Act — allows such plans to avoid most rules set by the states, which generally regulate most other types of insurance and assist consumers who report problems with their policies.
    — Julie Appleby, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of avoid
Verb
  • The soccer ball, muddy from outside, is encircled in one arm.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Houthi forces are now also trying to encircle the city of Taiz, the center of the southern Taiz Governorate.
    — David Brennan, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of encircle
Verb
  • The Hering and Wundt illusions are examples of how straight lines can appear curved if intersecting lines cross them at a certain angle.
    — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Backlog stands at $496 billion, growing triple digits, and AWS's AI business and custom chips business each crossed a $25 billion annual run rate.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 21 Sep. 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 24 Sep. 2026.

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