circulate

C3I1R1C3U1L1A1T1E1
UK/ˈsɜː.kjʊˌleɪt/US/ˈsɝ.kjʊˌleɪt/

verb

To move in circles or through a circuit.

“to circulate money or gossip”

Similar
put aboutspreaddisseminatego aroundcircularizecircularisedistributepropagate
OriginLate Latin circulātus →
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

verbcirculate (third-person singular simple present circulates, present participle circulating, simple past and past participle circulated)

present singular third person circulates · participle present circulating · participle past circulated · past circulated

  1. intransitiveTo move in circles or through a circuit.
  2. transitiveTo cause (a person or thing) to move in circles or through a circuit.
  3. intransitiveTo move from person to person, as at a party.

    In both the 2005 and 2013 papal elections there were whispers circulating that back in 1976 Francis had failed to help the two priests in their hour of need.

    2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary”, in The Guardian
  4. transitiveTo spread or disseminate.

    to circulate money or gossip

  5. intransitiveTo become widely known.
  6. intransitivemathematicsOf decimals: to repeat.

    a circulating decimal

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
put aboutspreaddisseminate

verbbecome widely known and passed on

Similar
go aroundspreadcircularizecircularise
Broader
travelgomove

verbcause to become widely known

Similar
circularizecircularisedistributedisseminatepropagatebroadcastspreaddiffusedispersepass aroundgo around
Broader
publicizepubliciseair

verbcause to be distributed

Similar
pass aroundpass ondistribute
Broader
movedisplace
Also see
broadcastcircularizediffusedispersedisseminatedistributego aroundminglepasspass aroundpass onpropagatespreadutter

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Late Latincirculō“to make circular, encircle”
  2. Late Latincirculātus
  3. Englishcirculate

Borrowed from Late Latin circulātus, perfect passive participle of Late Latin circulō (“to make circular, encircle”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), a later collateral form of circulor (“form a circle (of men) around oneself”), from circulus (“a circle”). See also Middle English circulat(e) (“(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel”).

More words from Late Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian обикалям, кръжа
  • обикалям (obikaljam)to move in circles
  • кръжа (krăža)to move in circles
  • разпространявам (razprostranjavam)to spread or disseminate
Chinese Mandarin 环绕
  • 环绕to move in circles
Czech obíhat, šířit
  • obíhatto move in circles
  • šířitto spread or disseminate
Esperanto cirkuladi
  • cirkuladito move in circles
Finnish kiertää, pyöriä
  • kiertääto move in circles
  • pyöriäto move in circles
  • kiertääto move from person to person
  • levittääto spread or disseminate
  • kierittääto cause to move in circles
  • pyörittääto cause to move in circles
French circuler
  • circulerto move in circles
Hebrew הסתובב, הפיץ
  • הסתובב (histovév)to move in circles
  • הפיץ (hefíts)to spread or disseminate
  • סובב (sovév)to cause to move in circles
Irish scaip
  • scaipto spread or disseminate
Italian circolare
  • circolareto move in circles
Latin circumrotō
  • circumrotōto move in circles
Portuguese circular
  • circularto move in circles
Romanian cercui, a face cercuri
  • cercuito move in circles
  • a face cercurito move in circles
Spanish circular, roldar
  • circularto move in circles
  • roldarto move in circles
Swedish cirkulera
  • cirkulerato move in circles
Thai หมุนเวียน, แพร่
  • หมุนเวียน (mǔn-wiian)to move in circles
  • แพร่ (prɛ̂ɛ)to spread or disseminate
  • แพร่กระจายto spread or disseminate
Turkish yaymak
  • yaymakto spread or disseminate
Cite this entry
APA

circulate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circulate

MLA

“circulate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circulate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “circulate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circulate.

Source: circulate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.