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👥 Among groups 🔄 Without progress
in circles

in circles

59 6.8
Talking or doing the same things again and again without making progress
  • idiom
  • Informal
: dar vueltas
  • They argued about the same topic for hours, going in circles and never reaching a conclusion.
  • go in circles

Like this is so much easier than me going in circles.

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Examples

  • We talked for an hour, going in circles, getting no closer to understanding what had happened to us.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • All right, we're going in circles here, Netflix.

  • I just go in circles because then it comes back to the reality of kids are kids.

  • One time, I found him walking in circles in the middle of the street.

    In Dubious Battle (2016)

  • - We're going in circles.

    The Beautician and the Beast (1997)

  • So we go in circles, making minimal progress with maximum effort.

    A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

  • We're going in circles.

    The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

  • And there's so much redundancies in the dialogue that, you know, people go in circles, stuff like that.

    Film Courage

  • Sam, totally disoriented, walks in circles around the plastic tunnels and jungle gym.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Well, as a lot of you viewers will know, you know, I was going round and round in circles essentially with the same thoughts of I can't do it anymore.

Synonyms

to go round in circles
vsin circles
  • Informal
10 5.2

To keep doing the same thing without making progress

is the general phrase for repetitive behaviour that leads nowhere
to talk in circles
vsin circles
  • Informal
4 7.2

To discuss something again and again without reaching a decision

is applied to repetitive behaviour that includes actions as well as discussions
to spin your wheels
vsin circles
  • Informal
3 7.9

To waste time and effort without making progress

highlights repetition that leads nowhere rather than just wasted effort
to speak in circles
vsin circles
  • Informal
1 7.5

Talk without saying a clear answer, often repeating or being vague

is about repeating actions or conversations that fail to reach any conclusion

Surface Forms

in circles positive

Morphology

in + circle

The meaning is directly compositional: 'in' (inside/within) + 'circle' (a group of people) yields 'among a particular group', so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the phrase. The social-group sense of 'circle' and this prepositional construction are common cross-linguistically, supporting full transparency.

Etymology

In circles comes from the image of someone walking or talking round and round and ending up in the same place; you move 'in' a circle but do not move forward. That's why it means 'repetitive and not making progress'.