small circle

noun

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

small circle

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of small circle¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

It also puts a spotlight on the clubby insurance industry, dominated by a small circle of mostly male executives who vie for the top positions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That exactly twenty years after Howie Rubin became a scandalous household name for losing $250 million, another mortgage bond trader named Howie, inside Morgan Stanley, would lose $9 billion on a single mortgage trade, and remain essentially unknown, without anyone beyond a small circle inside Morgan Stanley ever hearing about what he’d done, or why.

Read more on Literature

People close to Puech say Freymond surrounded him with a small circle of associates, including a lawyer named François Besse.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As someone who historically had a small circle and struggled to make friends as an adult, Dekermenjian said, “I didn’t realize there’s this part of me that’s wanted this all along.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Then he reaches across to the opposite shoulder and draws a small circle, doing the same with the other, as if he’s crossing himself.

Read more on Salon