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to recirculate

to recirculate

2 4.8
To move water, air, or gas through a system so it can be used again
  • verb
  • /ˌriːˈsɜːrkjʊleɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : recircular
  • In a modern car, you can set the air conditioning to recirculate the air, which helps maintain a comfortable temperature.
  • recirculates water
  • recirculates air
  • system that recirculates

Examples

  • And then I put that and this bad boy hook up the water lines that will recirculate around me.

  • Devices of this type may recirculate or incinerate the sewage.

    Academic text (1998)
  • We collect and then recirculate it back through the prewetting step.

    Academic text (1996)
  • So they're pulling air in from inside the case behind them and it'll recirculate back through there.

  • Effluent usually passes through the system one time, but some systems collect and recirculate effluent several times.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Temperature is regulated by a thermostatically controlled recirculating hot water system.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Dranco estimates that all of the reactor contents are recirculated in three days.

    Academic text (2001)
  • A trio of overhead fans spun lazily, recirculating the warm air.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Leachate will be recirculated continuously, and landfill gas will be captured and measured.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Later that year, the town built a 15,000-gallon/day recirculating intermittent granular media filter to replace the existing treatment plant.

    Academic text (2001)

Synonyms

to reuse
vsto recirculate
44 2.3

To use something again after cleaning or fixing it

refers specifically to moving fluids through a system to be used again

Antonyms

19 6.8

To stop growing or changing and stay the same, like water in a pond

How Often

to circulate
40 3.9
to recirculate
  • Specialized
2 4.8

Surface Forms

recirculate infinitive
recirculated past participle
recirculating present participle
recirculates third person singular

Morphology

recirculate = circulate (transparent) = re + circulate

The prefix 're-' keeps its standard meaning 'again', so 'recirculate' is straightforwardly understood as 'circulate again'.

Etymology

Recirculate is made of re- ('again') and circulate, which is like circle meaning 'around' or 'in a loop'. So to recirculate water, air, or gas is to move it 'around again' through a system so it can be reused or kept clean.