circulate
Americanverb (used without object)
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circulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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circulated,
past participle, past
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circulating
present participle
-
to move in a circle or circuit; move or pass through a circuit back to the starting point.
Blood circulates throughout the body.
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to pass from place to place, from person to person, etc..
She circulated among her guests.
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to be distributed or sold, especially over a wide area.
- Synonyms:
- promulgate, lay, disperse
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Library Science. (of books and other materials) to be available for borrowing by patrons of a library for a specified period of time.
verb (used with object)
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circulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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circulated,
past participle, past
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circulating
present participle
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to cause to pass from place to place, person to person, etc.; disseminate; distribute.
to circulate a rumor.
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Library Science. to lend (books and other materials) to patrons of a library for a specified period of time.
verb
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to send, go, or pass from place to place or person to person
don't circulate the news
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to distribute or be distributed over a wide area
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to move or cause to move through a circuit, system, etc, returning to the starting point
blood circulates through the body
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to move in a circle
the earth circulates around the sun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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circulatornoun
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intercirculateverb
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precirculateverb
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recirculateverb
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circulatableadjective
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circulativeadjective
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circulatoryadjective
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noncirculatingadjective
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noncirculatoryadjective
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uncirculatedadjective
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uncirculatingadjective
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uncirculativeadjective
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well-circulatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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circulatesimple
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circulatessimple
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have circulatedperfect
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has circulatedperfect
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am circulatingprogressive
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are circulatingprogressive
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is circulatingprogressive
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have been circulatingperfect progressive
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has been circulatingperfect progressive
Past
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circulatedsimple
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had circulatedperfect
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was circulatingprogressive
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were circulatingprogressive
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had been circulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of circulate
1425–75 for earlier senses; 1665–75 for current senses; late Middle English < Latin circulātus (past participle of circulārī to gather round one, Medieval Latin circulāre to encircle), equivalent to circul ( us ) circle + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To circulate is to move continuously in a specific circuit, often in a circle. A ceiling fan circulates cool air around the room on a warm day. Blood circulates through your body, pumped from your heart through veins and arteries — your circulatory system — and delivering oxygen to your tissues. This system is closed, meaning the blood stays in your body, bringing oxygenated blood back to your heart. People circulate when they move around a room at a party, chatting with different people, and rumors circulate when they're passed in a circle, from person to person. Circulate comes from the Latin circulare, "to form a circle."
Vocabulary lists containing circulate
"Of Plymouth Plantation," Vocabulary from the historical account
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"Of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford
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Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The difference now, Tkatch said, is more advanced technology, making it easier to widely circulate synthetic fragrances and natural scents in a way that’s discreet and constant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
"A lot of the damage may already be done, and as we have seen in past FBI data breaches, that information continues to circulate the dark web years later," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Even as videos of his superhuman strength—showing him squatting, for example, 600 pounds—continue to circulate on YouTube.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Every Bitcoin transaction is public, and the number of Bitcoin that will ever circulate has been arbitrarily capped at 21 million.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
The strains of flu that circulate at the beginning of each winter’s flu epidemic are quite different from the strains of flu that circulate at the end.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
“I don’t hear any noises,” he said, pacing a raised floor above a chamber that circulates air to cool servers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Much of the interest on the internet circulates around filmmaker Kane Parsons’ viral “found footage” videos on YouTube.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
As a scholar who researches the relationship between Christianity and fashion, I have traced how Christian imagery circulates in surprising forms.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
The Andes virus, which circulates in Argentina and Chile and is mainly spread among the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, is the only hantavirus strain known to be able to transmit from human to human.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
The beat of the man's heart, and the noise of his blood as it circulates through his body, grow louder and louder.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
A video of Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., looking on with a mask of utter horror quickly circulated online.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
As videos of the incident circulated online, Carrillo urged, “Please do not share or repost graphic videos of this tragedy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Jane Doe suffered "severe emotional and psychological distress and personal physical injury" due to the incident and the university's handling, the suit states, adding that news of the incident quickly circulated through the school.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
The draft being circulated envisions a transitional government that would spend up to two years preparing for free elections.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
As it happens, Oresme’s text was never published, and cannot have circulated widely because it was written in French.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The two combine naturally, managing tempo and sharing the responsibility for circulating the ball.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
We also found disapproval of Flock circulating in otherwise apolitical communities on TikTok, like those primarily devoted to cars and pop culture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Officials believe rabies may be circulating intensely within that local population.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
In the age of cheap, widely available AI tools, producing and circulating their content -- described as "pseudo-journalism" by the Columbia Journalism Review -- has never been easier.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Wild rumors were circulating about her--how her mother had found her packing her bag one winter night to go to New York and say goodbye to a soldier who was going overseas.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
