circumnavigate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to sail or fly around; make the circuit of by navigation.
to circumnavigate the earth.
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to go or maneuver around.
to circumnavigate the heavy downtown traffic.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have circumnavigatedperfect
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has circumnavigatedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been circumnavigatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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circumnavigatingparticiple
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have been circumnavigatingperfect progressive
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is circumnavigatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am circumnavigatingprogressive 1st person singular
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are circumnavigatingprogressive
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circumnavigatessingular 3rd person
Past
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had circumnavigatedperfect
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was circumnavigatingprogressive singular
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were circumnavigatingprogressive plural
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had been circumnavigatingperfect progressive
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circumnavigatedparticiple
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circumnavigatedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of circumnavigate
1625–35; < Latin circumnāvigātus (past participle of circumnāvigāre ), equivalent to circum- circum- + nāvigātus; see navigate
Explanation
Circumnavigate means to travel around in a big circle. When you circumnavigate the world, will you do it in a boat or a hot air balloon? Circumnavigate breaks down to circum-, "around," and navigare, "to navigate." It was first used in the era when sailors were trying to find new lands they didn't know about, and so the "around" in question was the trip around the entire earth. We also use circumnavigate to describe going around something that's too hard to go through, like when you circumnavigate the massive crowds in Times Square on New Year's Eve.
Vocabulary lists containing circumnavigate
100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
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Around and Around: Circum
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Content Summary 4.1: Causes and Consequences of Iberian Maritime Exploration and Colonialism
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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.
Circumnavigate Mount Rainier on this classic, well-marked and easy-to-navigate 93-mile route.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2022
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.
