circumambulate

[ sur-kuhm-am-byuh-leyt ]

See synonyms for circumambulate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object),cir·cum·am·bu·lat·ed, cir·cum·am·bu·lat·ing.

to walk or go about or around, especially ceremoniously.

Origin of circumambulate

First recorded in 1650–60, circumambulate is from the Late Latin word circumambulātus (past participle of circumambulāre). See circum-, ambulate

Other words from circumambulate

cir·cum·am·bu·la·tion, noun
cir·cum·am·bu·la·tor, noun
cir·cum·am·bu·la·to·ry, adjective

Words Nearby circumambulate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use circumambulate in a sentence

Do thou, therefore, circumambulate that great hero cheerfully.
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 4 | Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Is this me, around whom children ran, as they would about a pillar or a monument, and thought it exercise to circumambulate?
Arthur O'Leary | Charles James Lever
They kneel, clasp their hands, circumambulate the Buddha and file out.
The Buddha | Paul Carus
Round this there is a dark and narrow passage which pilgrims circumambulate.
The Unveiling of Lhasa | Edmund Candler

British Dictionary definitions for circumambulate

circumambulate

/ (ˌsɜːkəmˈæmbjʊˌleɪt) /

verb

to walk around (something)
(intr) to avoid the point

Origin of circumambulate

C17: from Late Latin circum- + ambulāre to walk

Derived forms of circumambulate

circumambulation, noun
circumambulator, noun
circumambulatory, adjective

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

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