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 longer light can circulate, the higher the performance of resulting devices can be."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Shellfish, bread, beer circulate around firepits dug into sand.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
His comments come as new calls for mass crossings circulate on social media, according to Moroccan media.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Days later a photo began to circulate in internal company group chats, showing a line of people waiting to get into the two-story space, which offers cocktails, a game room and meditation areas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The room had no window, just a large hole near the ceiling for a little bit of air to circulate.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
It therefore circulates less easily from one generation to the next.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 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
However, if it is a different new world strain, for example one called Sin Nombre, which only circulates in North America, contamination in South America can be ruled out.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
The scent of oil lamps and old paper and leather circulates.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
It was an inconvenient truth Xi’s own remarks had left out, and it circulated widely online before censors moved to contain it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
One woman got mad and left the chat, another got stranded and a salty side conversation got translated to text and circulated to all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
After the series aired, Amnesty South Africa circulated guidance on narcissistic abuse and what steps a woman can take.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
In the 1980s and 1990s, widely circulated stories about Medicaid exposed fraud and malfeasance by providers.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
The theory eventually circulated that Boori Ma had once worked as hired help for a prosperous zamindar back east, and was therefore capable of exaggerating her past at such elaborate lengths and heights.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is circulating photos of 27 people seen earlier this month at the auto supply business at Atlantic and Olympic boulevards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
"Abdominal obesity reduces circulating vitamin D, and that deficiency impairs the immune system, exacerbating the chronic inflammation caused by excess fat and drastically increasing the risk of mortality," Alexandre explains to Agência FAPESP.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Not least because of images and videos circulating on social media.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Letters are circulating by AI leaders calling for a slowdown in the release of new models, and for a joint effort by the U.S. and China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
When Ruth and I were remembering all this a few years ago, she claimed there were dozens of these magazines circulating around the Cottages.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
