circumnavigate
Americanverb (used with object)
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circumnavigates,
present (3rd person singular)
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circumnavigated,
past participle, past
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circumnavigating
present participle
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to sail or fly around; make the circuit of by navigation.
to circumnavigate the earth.
-
to go or maneuver around.
to circumnavigate the heavy downtown traffic.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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circumnavigatesimple
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circumnavigatessimple
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have circumnavigatedperfect
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has circumnavigatedperfect
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am circumnavigatingprogressive
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are circumnavigatingprogressive
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is circumnavigatingprogressive
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have been circumnavigatingperfect progressive
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has been circumnavigatingperfect progressive
Past
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circumnavigatedsimple
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had circumnavigatedperfect
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was circumnavigatingprogressive
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were circumnavigatingprogressive
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had been circumnavigatingperfect progressive
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
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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.
See Examples For:
“What I was doing was using my abilities as an artist to circumnavigate their attempt at exercising their power and preventing me from using this exchange as material in my practice.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
The first Saturday in May is a cherished tradition for New York’s die-hard walkers, who gather to circumnavigate Manhattan in one very long day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Earhart's disappearance during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe spawned numerous theories - from a simple crash due to fuel exhaustion to more elaborate claims of Japanese capture or US government espionage.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2025
Some analysts said that downgrade might make Paramount easier to acquire, since it could circumnavigate a provision that would require a buyer to immediately pay the company’s debt.
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
The goal for this voyage was to circumnavigate the continent and map all the islands that were still uncharted.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
That’s how my wife, Selina, and I explored the area, following the signposted 168-mile Lake Constance Bike Route, which roughly circumnavigates the lake.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 24, 2022
The route circumnavigates Bainbridge Island, earning its reputation along the way, particularly as riders are forced up the mountainous Baker Hill on the island’s south end.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2022
The L.E.D. screen—sixty feet long and almost two stories tall—flashes with ads for Broadway plays, beer, and children’s movies, as the boat circumnavigates lower Manhattan.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 18, 2019
The open-air expedition circumnavigates the island’s undeveloped coastline — a mini safari in the middle of the Pacific.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2019
Drake, Francis, freebooter in West Indies, 66; raid on Pacific coast, 70; accompanies Hawkins, 107; attack on Nombre de Dios, 107; on Chagres River, 107; circumnavigates globe, 108; rescues Roanoke Island colonists, 110.
From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Bolton, Herbert Eugene
They dropped anchor off the coast of Shanghai on Dec. 3, having circumnavigated the globe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
Ferdinand Magellan may have circumnavigated the globe, but he was not an expert on where he was going as he embarked upon the journey.
From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2024
Frodo, on the other hand, circumnavigated the entire North Pacific—and, as Ransome would discover, he’s not alone.
From National Geographic ● Sep. 28, 2023
He said the Chinese balloons were "specially designed for these long-range missions" and some had "apparently circumnavigated the globe".
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2023
He circumnavigated the boat carefully, checking the mooring lines on each cleat as he went, kneeling to look at them closely.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Director Nancy Medina’s staging, circumnavigating a theatrical circle, lifts the audience out of its proscenium passivity into something almost immersive and definitely interactive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2025
Sella's Himalayan journey began in 1899 when he joined British explorer Douglas Freshfield on an expedition circumnavigating Kanchenjunga.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2025
Rutherford is best known for being the first to complete a nonstop solo sail circumnavigating North and South America.
From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2023
Spain renewed its argument in 1522 when an expeditionary fleet that had been captained by Ferdinand Magellan returned to Europe after circumnavigating the globe.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
After Eratosthenes, some may have tried, but not until the time of Magellan did anyone succeed in circumnavigating the Earth.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
