small circle

American  

noun

1. a circle on a sphere, the plane of which does not pass through the center of the sphere.

---

small circle British  

noun

1. a circular section of a sphere that does not contain the centre of the sphere Compare great circle

---

Etymology

Origin of small circle

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

On the summer solstice, the complex’s Heel Stone, which stands outside Stonehenge’s main circle, lines up with the rising sun.

From National Geographic • Dec. 19, 2023

While he never belonged to Mr. Bankman-Fried’s main circle of advisers in the Bahamas, where FTX was based, he had accompanied the young executive in meetings with regulators in Washington.

From New York Times • Nov. 29, 2022

“What’s key is that he wasn’t part of the main circle who made the decisions in M-19. He was very young at that moment,” she said.

From New York Times • Jun. 19, 2022

The bobcat habitat wasn’t even on the zoo’s main circle around Big Cat mountain, just a little culvert, no more glamorous than the accounts payable or customer service department,

From Washington Times • Feb. 5, 2017

The entrance to this was a low-roofed, hall-like annex, dark as night, leading with a sudden pitch downward into the main circle.

From Vikings of the Pacific The Adventures of the Explorers who Came from the West, Eastward by Laut, Agnes C. (Agnes Christina)