circle
circle [sûrʹkəl] noun
Abbr. cir, circ.
1. A plane curve everywhere equidistant from a given fixed point, the center.
2. A planar region bounded by a circle.
3. Something, such as a ring, shaped like such a plane curve.
4. A circular course, circuit, or orbit: a satellite's circle around the earth.
5. A curved section or tier of seats in a theater.
6. A series or process that finishes at its starting point or continuously repeats itself; a cycle.
7. A group of people sharing an interest, activity, or achievement.
8. A territorial or administrative division, especially of a province, in some European countries.
9. A sphere of influence or interest; domain: well-known in artistic circles.
10. Logic. A vicious circle.
verb
circled, circling, circles
verb, transitive
1. To make or form a circle around; enclose.
2. To move in a circle around.
verb, intransitive
To move in a circle.
[Middle English cercle, from Old French, from Latin circulus diminutive of circus, circle, from Greek kirkos, krikos.]
cirʹcler [-klər] noun
Synonyms: circle, coterie, set, clique. These nouns denote a group of people sharing an interest or activity. Circle connotes gravitation around a central point or element: my circle of friends; prominent in financial circles. "For the most of us, if we do not talk of ourselves, or at any rate of the individual circles of which we are the centers, we can talk of nothing" [Anthony Trollope]. Coterie applies to a small, select group of congenial persons: "a coterie of Wall Street bankers and their friends" [Robert B. Reich]. Set suggests a large, loosely bound group, especially of persons of the same social status who have similar interests and tastes: "These men constituted the best set in the College. . . . All were reading men, and all good men" [Walter Besant]. A clique is an exclusive group, usually social and often participating in activities from which outsiders are barred: "the narrow, often self-perpetuating cliques which control our lives, living standards and leisure"[John Lloyd]. See also synonyms at surround, turn.