Synonyms

circulate

American

[sur-kyuh-leyt] / ˈsɜr kjəˌleɪt /

verb (used without object)

to move in a circle or circuit; move or pass through a circuit back to the starting point.

Blood circulates throughout the body.
to pass from place to place, from person to person, etc..

She circulated among her guests.
to be distributed or sold, especially over a wide area.

Synonyms:

promulgate, lay, disperse
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)

to cause to pass from place to place, person to person, etc.; disseminate; distribute.

to circulate a rumor.
Library Science. to lend (books and other materials) to patrons of a library for a specified period of time.

circulate British

/ ˈsɜːkjʊˌleɪt /

verb

to send, go, or pass from place to place or person to person

don't circulate the news
to distribute or be distributed over a wide area
to move or cause to move through a circuit, system, etc, returning to the starting point

blood circulates through the body
to move in a circle

the earth circulates around the sun

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

circulate Scientific

/ sûr′kyə-lāt′ /

To move in or flow through a circle or a circuit. Blood circulates through the body as it flows out from the heart to the tissues and back again.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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."

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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.

The report from the Circulate San Diego suggests that requirements first imposed decades ago to stop infrastructure projects from ripping up neighborhoods have created new hurdles that have put innovations around transportation years behind schedule.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025

“Parking reform did not get in the way of that,” said Colin Parent, the executive director of Circulate San Diego, which has tracked the city’s affordability stats.

From Slate • Sep. 16, 2022

Now, Populus is giving that same feeling to others — by uplifting other Black-owned L.A. brands and by giving back to charity through Circulate Market or his education initiatives through Circulate Arts.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2022

“We won’t be able to just recycle or reduce our way out of it,” said Rob Kaplan, CEO of Circulate Capital, which invests in emerging markets initiatives to solve the plastic waste crisis.

From Reuters • Dec. 3, 2021

But sometimes I use Circulate in an ordinary sense to turn round, or return in a circle.

From Democritus Platonissans by More, Henry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023