traffic circle

American  

noun

1. a circular arrangement constructed at the intersection of two or more roads in order to facilitate the passage of vehicles from one road to another.

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traffic circle British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): roundabout.  a road junction in which traffic streams circulate around a central island

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Etymology

Origin of traffic circle

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

So we did some country driving, along quiet roads in a residential area in Maryland, away from the slashing diagonal streets, traffic circles and pedestrians of D.C.

From Washington Post

People flooded across the Seine into the Place de la Concorde, a busy traffic circle that 230 years ago was named Revolutionary Square.

From New York Times

Thousands of protesters, along with some leftist legislators, gathered on the plaza, in the center of a giant traffic circle in the heart of the French capital.

From New York Times

At traffic circles slick with ice and mud, jobless men peddle trinkets, repair shoes and wave snow shovels at cars.

From Washington Post

Police cleared the vast traffic circle around the monument.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• roundabout