to circle around
21
2.3
- phrasal verb
- /ˈsɜr.kəl əˈraʊnd/
:
dar vueltas alrededor de
- When Ivan sees me coming to him, he puts his cue down and circles around the table.
- form a circle around
- concentric circles around
Most of the works I've made scenes continue to circle around those topics.
- Most of the works I've made scenes continue to circle around those topics.
- Instead, what we see is circling around the same themes.
- So OK, you circle around porn a lot.
- And sometimes that perception has been circling around since we were a little kid.
Examples
-
The hawk began to circle around its prey, waiting for the right moment to strike.
-
The swarm was slowly circling around the chamber, the old man in the middle.
Fiction book (1993) -
And then you could also circle around and you can also go side to side.
-
- You circle around the road.
-
I'll get word from the street, circle around a little bit.
-
We'll circle around him, and we'll land on the highway.
-
I'll circle around and avoid the big nasty.
-
Using the cover of the snowfall, Anne Marie circles around the outside edge of town toward Wilder's cabin.
Fiction book (1993) -
And the conversation does, as Boehmer suggests, circle around the possibilities and limitations of benevolent intervention.
Academic text (2013) -
Well, I've been instructed to bring you first to the consulate, which should be beyond those trees on the other side of the jungle, so we'll have to circle around...
Synonyms
210
1.8
To move around something in a circle
120
2.7
To move in a twisting or circular way
88
3.0
Move around something following a curved path
87
2.5
To form a circle around something to surround it
78
2.0
Move in a circle around a point, like a planet around the Sun
46
1.1
To go on foot around the edge of something instead of through it
41
3.2
To make something move in a circle around a central point
33
3.4
To form a circle around a person or thing
24
4.1
To turn quickly to face a different direction
19
1.3
To go around something to get to the other side
12
6.9
Spin around in circles or spirals
10
3.6
Move in a circle around a central object, like planets around the Sun
9
3.7
To move quickly in a circle, often through the air
8
4.3
To move in a complete vertical circle, as a plane or roller coaster
7
3.2
Travel by boat around a place like a coast or lake
3
4.2
To turn quickly to face a different direction
1
9.2
To move in a circle or spiral
1
9.9
To walk all the way around something, often as part of a religious ceremony
Move around something or someone in a circle
To make something turn around its center like a wheel
How Complete
6
8.3
21
2.3
- Specialized
126
3.9
78
2.0
16
4.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to move in a circular course around something' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'circle' (to move in a circle) with 'around' (in a circular path). This motion-verb + spatial particle construction is cross-linguistically common and follows standard compositional patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The verb circle around comes from a clear image: something moving in a ring, like birds that circle and fly around a fishing boat or guards walking round a building. That's why it means 'to move in a circle around something'.