in circulation

Idioms  

1. Also, into circulation. In business or social life, especially after a period of absence. For example, After a month in the hospital Bill was eager to get back in circulation. The antonym is out of circulation, as in Since we had twins we've been out of circulation, but we're hoping to get out more often soon. These expressions, dating from the first half of the 1900s, employ circulation in the sense of “making the rounds among people,” a usage dating from the 1600s.

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Example Sentences

Animals traded through global wildlife markets are far more likely to carry diseases that can infect humans, and the risk grows the longer those species remain in circulation, according to a new study.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

They have a fixed amount of shares in circulation — hence they are closed-ended, as opposed to “open-ended” mutual funds and ETFs.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 12, 2026

Government figures show around £93m of Jersey notes were in circulation at the end of 2025, with minimum print runs required "to achieve value for money in a smaller jurisdiction such as ours".

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

On Wednesday, Circle said its flagship stablecoin, USDC, ended 2025 with $75.3 billion in circulation, up 72% from a year ago.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

Thus the number of apostrophes in circulation remains constant, even if this means we have double the reason to go and bang our heads against a wall.

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author

Related Words

• modern
• ongoing
• present
• prevailing