circumnavigating

verb

present participle of circumnavigate
1
as in circling
to travel completely around the first ship to circumnavigate the globe

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in bypassing
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 circumnavigating The countdown clock is officially rolling at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where four astronauts are preparing to take off on the mission of a lifetime — circumnavigating the moon and returning humans to deep space for the first time in five decades as part of Artemis II. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 31 Mar. 2026 Superpressure balloons can last for months and travel long distances, potentially circumnavigating the globe, all the while reporting their position. — IEEE Spectrum, 31 Jan. 2026 Two hundred seventy-two miles of scenery are signposted by pretty blue and orange ribbons circumnavigating the island, representing the ocean and those ubiquitous mandarins. — Gary Shteyngart, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumnavigating
  1. circling
  2. bypassing
  3. traversing
  4. circumventing
  5. orbiting
  6. avoiding
  7. encircling
  8. crossing
Verb
  • The captain of a lobster diving boat, Steven Del Sol, told officials that his vessel was anchored off Fisher Island when Simpson's Conch-brand boat allegedly approached him at high speed and began circling his boat, the arrest affidavit said.
    — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Journal, rest, take a silent walk, or name the thought that keeps circling.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of circling
Verb
  • Buying a half-finished superyacht offers a unique opportunity to save time and money, bypassing long new-build queues.
    — Benjamin Maltby, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • While Herro never made an issue of the Heat bypassing his extension window last fall, the issue did factor into the Heat’s approach going forward with the 2019 first-round pick out of Kentucky.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of bypassing
Verb
  • Not many indoor cats like leashes or traversing the great outdoors with their person.
    — Emily Tarinelli, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Rescue crews in southern Colorado rushed to rescue a climber over the weekend who had fallen about 50 feet while traversing between Little Bear Peak and Blanca Peak in Alamosa County.
    — Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of traversing
Verb
  • Molt often carried them into the country in suitcases, easily circumventing the relatively lax customs regulations.
    — Rory Doherty, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Hegseth has already challenged that premise in ways both meaningful and petty, by circumventing the normal promotion process to push out officers far below him or to stall their advancements, and by firing senior officers set for even higher rank.
    — Missy Ryan, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026
Definition of circumventing
Verb
  • Its large disk shows colorful cloud bands, the Great Red Spot and orbiting moons even in modest telescopes.
    — Damian Peach, Space.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The strangest thing about the Solar System may be that these aren’t exotic worlds orbiting some distant star.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of orbiting
Verb
  • McDaniel had his reasons for avoiding supplying his own depth chart beyond not wishing to see it in print or on a website or TV network.
    — Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Now some pregnant women and others are avoiding health centers for fear of the virus, at risk to their lives.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of avoiding
Verb
  • Champions Nigeria enter with 10 stars encircling the crest on their jerseys, having won 10 of the previous 13 WAFCONs, and looking to add an 11th.
    — Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 26 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 encircling
Verb
  • Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is still incredibly limited with only 13 vessels crossing the waterway on Thursday, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
    — Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Surveillance video captured the collision as Jorge Gonzalez was crossing the street.
    — Abby Dodge, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of crossing

Browse Nearby Words

circumnavigates
circumnavigating
circumscribe
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Circumnavigating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumnavigating. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on circumnavigating

Nglish: Translation of circumnavigating for Spanish Speakers

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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

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

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All