circle

1 noun (C)

1 SHAPE a completely round shape, like the letter O: Draw a circle 10cm in diameter. | Cut the pastry into circles. | perfect circle (=exactly round)

2 GROUP OF PEOPLE/THINGS a group of people or things forming a round shape: The children stood round in a circle. | a circle of chairs

3 SOCIAL GROUP also circles a group of people who know each other: a large circle of friends | well-known in fashionable circles | move in different circles (=have different friends, jobs, interests etc)

4 political/literary/scientific etc circles the people who are involved in politics, literature, science etc: These ideas have caused an uproar in literary and academic circles.

5 THEATRE BrE the upper floor of a theatre, that has seats arranged in curved rows; balcony (2) especially AmE

6 go round in circles to think or argue about something without deciding anything or making progress: Let's have a break - we're just going round in circles.

7 come/turn full circle if a process, argument etc comes full circle, it ends in the same situation in which it began: By August her feelings had turned full circle.

-see also: square the circle square 3 (6), vicious-circle 2 verb

1 (T) to draw a circle around something: Circle the correct answer.

2 (I, T) to move around in a circle in the air: The plane circled the airport before landing.