as in swirling
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1
as in surrounding
to form a circle around
everyone circled the lectern and waited their turn to read from the Bible
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in orbiting
to travel completely around
with a look of extreme frustration, the commander circled the new recruit
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of circling
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 7 Jan. 2026
Deadline had revealed that both were circling over the past few weeks and Amazon has now said that Isaacs will play Atlas DeMornay, one of the canon roles, and Weaver will be Evelyn Wallis, a mysterious, high-flying woman who is keen to exploit Lara’s talents.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
Stan is coming off a particularly strong awards-season run, and in December, rumors surfaced that his Avengers’ co-star Scarlett Johansson was also circling a role for Reeves.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2026
The Pittsburgh Penguins were on their toes and circling, pelting goaltender Jet Greaves with puck after puck.
—Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Or Frost Science in Miami turns everyone into a kid — sharks circling a multi-story aquarium, planetarium shows that reset anyone’s sense of scale, exhibits that invite visitors to touch first and read second.
—Eric Barton, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
Many likely form around stars and are later thrown out by strong gravitational forces, while others may form on their own without ever circling a star.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 Jan. 2026
As seen in a now-viral clip circling social media, a woman was spotted in the stands at Lambeau Field holding a sign created in full support of the retired NFL star.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 11 Nov. 2025
That’s when new investors start circling like sharks, desperate not to miss out.
—Chris Cardillo, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
So instead, to keep costs down and power up, the Starcloud satellite flies what is known as a dawn-dusk sun-synchronous orbit, circling the planet at a near vertical 83° angle that carries it over the poles and keeps it almost constantly exposed to the sun.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for circling
Adjective
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This stellar pasta twists around the black hole like spaghetti around a fork, forming a swirling flow of gas and dust known as an accretion disk that gradually feeds the cosmic titan.—
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Its swirling indie-pop hooks and jammy prog-rock ideas are practically written with the vision of people dancing around you, their hands raised in the air.—
Verb
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But, amid all the energy surrounding the team’s future, the looming lawsuit against Missouri’s stadium-funding plan has drawn little public attention over the past several weeks.—
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Even more striking, the gas moved in a very orderly and coherent way, with far less random motion than the surrounding stars.—
Verb
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The astronauts, known as Crew-11, arrived at the International Space Station in early August and had been expected to stay aboard the orbiting laboratory until late February.—
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The two planets, roughly four times the size of Earth, were discovered to be orbiting around a millisecond pulsar star named PSR B1257+12, which is 2,300 light-years away.—
Adjective
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On the far right side, a giant elliptical galaxy appears to have a stream that connects it to a group of galaxies that exhibit spiral and disk-like features, with stellar streams abounding in that galaxy group or cluster.—
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This track has more spiral turns than any other track previously created by Andretti.—
Verb
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For two days, Chinese warships and aircraft simulated a blockade of the global chip hub with live-fire exercises encircling the main island, while dozens of rockets struck waters near its northern and eastern ends on Tuesday.—
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Live-fire activities would take place in five maritime and airspace zones encircling the island on Tuesday, according to information released by the command.—
Verb
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Mariners traversing the bar are urged to exercise extreme caution or stay in port until the threat subsides.—
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Walkers and bikers traversing down the path and a new bridge will see two new pavilions as well as the Athletic Club Boise Stadium, where a new professional soccer team whose name and colors were revealed in 2025 will play.—
Adjective
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In our seminar, Bolin later showed a visualization of 3I/ATLAS's orbit around the galaxy — no neat ellipse, but rather a looping, spiraling path distorted by encounters with gas clouds, spiral arms and dark matter.—
Verb
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The statement came just days after county leadership joined state and team officials in Topeka for a joint announcement that the Chiefs would be leaving Kansas City and crossing state lines into Kansas.—
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The video showed the mysterious concept, dubbed Corleo, roaming rocky terrain, leaping over icy crevasses, crossing snowy landscapes without losing its footing, and traversing a dark forest at night — all while carrying an adult rider on its back and being powered by a hydrogen power cell.—
Cite this Entry
“Circling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circling. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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