CIRCUIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does circuit mean? 

• CIRCUIT (noun)
  The noun CIRCUIT has 7 senses:

1. an electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow

2. a journey or route all the way around a particular place or area

3. an established itinerary of venues or events that a particular group of people travel to

4. the boundary line encompassing an area or object

5. (law) a judicial division of a state or the United States (so-called because originally judges traveled and held court in different locations); one of the twelve groups of states in the United States that is covered by a particular circuit court of appeals

6. a racetrack for automobile races

7. movement once around a course

  Familiarity information: CIRCUIT used as a noun is common.

• CIRCUIT (verb)
  The verb CIRCUIT has 1 sense:

1. make a circuit

  Familiarity information: CIRCUIT used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CIRCUIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

circuit; electric circuit; electrical circuit

Hypernyms ("circuit" is a kind of...):

electrical device (a device that produces or is powered by electricity)

Meronyms (parts of "circuit"):

capacitance; capacitor; condenser; electrical condenser (an electrical device characterized by its capacity to store an electric charge)

electron tube; thermionic tube; thermionic vacuum tube; thermionic valve; tube; vacuum tube (electronic device consisting of a system of electrodes arranged in an evacuated glass or metal envelope)

choke; choke coil; choking coil (a coil of low resistance and high inductance used in electrical circuits to pass direct current and attenuate alternating current)

bypass; electrical shunt; shunt (a conductor having low resistance in parallel with another device to divert a fraction of the current)

short; short circuit (accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit that have a potential difference)

resistance; resistor (an electrical device that resists the flow of electrical current)

electrical relay; relay (electrical device such that current flowing through it in one circuit can switch on and off a current in a second circuit)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "circuit"):

wiring (a circuit of wires for the distribution of electricity)

T-network (a circuit formed by two equal series circuits with a shunt between them)

tank circuit (an oscillatory circuit)

squelch; squelch circuit; squelcher (an electric circuit that cuts off a receiver when the signal becomes weaker than the noise)

series circuit (a circuit having its parts connected serially)

resonant circuit; resonator (an electrical circuit that combines capacitance and inductance in such a way that a periodic electric oscillation will reach maximum amplitude)

pulse timing circuit (a circuit that times pulses)

open circuit (an incomplete electrical circuit in which no current flows)

data link; link (an interconnecting circuit between two or more locations for the purpose of transmitting and receiving data)

clipper; limiter ((electronics) a nonlinear electronic circuit whose output is limited in amplitude; used to limit the instantaneous amplitude of a waveform (to clip off the peaks of a waveform))

flip-flop (an electronic circuit that can assume either of two stable states)

feedback circuit; feedback loop (a circuit that feeds back some of the output to the input of a system)

delay line (a circuit designed to introduce a calculated delay into the transmission of a signal)

computer circuit (a circuit that is part of a computer)

closed circuit; loop (a complete electrical circuit around which current flows or a signal circulates)

bridged-T (a circuit consisting of a T-network with an additional shunt bridging the two series circuits)

bridge; bridge circuit (a circuit consisting of two branches (4 arms arranged in a diamond configuration) across which a meter is connected)

Holonyms ("circuit" is a part of...):

electronic equipment (equipment that involves the controlled conduction of electrons (especially in a gas or vacuum or semiconductor))

Sense 2

Meaning:

A journey or route all the way around a particular place or area

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

circuit; tour

Context example:

a ten-day coach circuit of the island

Hypernyms ("circuit" is a kind of...):

journey; journeying (the act of traveling from one place to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "circuit"):

walkabout (a walking trip or tour)

grand tour (a sightseeing tour of a building or institution)

grand tour (an extended cultural tour of Europe taken by wealthy young Englishmen (especially in the 18th century) as part of their education)

itineration (journeying from place to place preaching or lecturing; a preaching tour or lecturing tour)

package holiday; package tour (a tour arranged by a travel agent; transportation and food and lodging are all provided at an inclusive price)

pub crawl (a tour of bars or public houses (usually taking one drink at each stop))

whistle-stop tour (a tour by a candidate as part of a political campaign in which a series of small towns are visited)

Derivation:

circuit (make a circuit)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An established itinerary of venues or events that a particular group of people travel to

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Context example:

the international tennis circuit

Hypernyms ("circuit" is a kind of...):

itinerary; path; route (an established line of travel or access)

Derivation:

circuit (make a circuit)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The boundary line encompassing an area or object

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

circuit; circumference

Context example:

a danger to all races over the whole circumference of the globe

Hypernyms ("circuit" is a kind of...):

border; borderline; boundary line; delimitation; mete (a line that indicates a boundary)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(law) a judicial division of a state or the United States (so-called because originally judges traveled and held court in different locations); one of the twelve groups of states in the United States that is covered by a particular circuit court of appeals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("circuit" is a kind of...):

group; grouping (any number of entities (members) considered as a unit)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A racetrack for automobile races

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

circuit; racing circuit

Hypernyms ("circuit" is a kind of...):

racecourse; racetrack; raceway; track (a course over which races are run)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Movement once around a course

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

circle; circuit; lap

Context example:

he drove an extra lap just for insurance

Hypernyms ("circuit" is a kind of...):

locomotion; travel (self-propelled movement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "circuit"):

lap of honour; victory lap (a lap by the winning person or team run to celebrate the victory)

pace lap (the first lap of a car race that prepares the cars for a fast start)

• CIRCUIT (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a circuit

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

They were circuiting about the state

Hypernyms (to "circuit" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

circuit (a journey or route all the way around a particular place or area)

circuit (an established itinerary of venues or events that a particular group of people travel to)

 Context examples 

Now, scientists at Rockefeller University have identified a brain circuit that underlies repetition, a finding that may shed light on compulsive behavior in humans.

(Research on repetitive worm behavior has implications for understanding human diseases, National Science Foundation)

They traced this back to brain circuits that are important in processing and evaluating social cues, such as facial expressions.

(Scientists identify possible source of the ‘Uncanny Valley’ in the brain, University of Cambridge)

Testing the device to detect device malfunctions caused by a disturbance affecting an electrical circuit due to electromagnetic radiation emitted from an external source.

(Device Radiofrequency Interference Testing Evaluation Method, Food and Drug Administration)

RFI is a disturbance that affects an electrical circuit due to either electromagnetic conduction or electromagnetic radiation emitted from an external source.

(Device Radiofrequency Interference Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)

They explain that this neuroflexibility was characterized by initially decreased activation of this circuit in response to stress, followed by its increased activation with sustained stress exposure.

(Researchers identify brain circuits that help people cope with stress, NIH)

Graphene integrated in a photonic circuit is a low cost, scalable technology that can operate fibre links at a very high data rates.

(Graphene may exceed bandwidth demands of future telecommunications, University of Cambridge)

These findings suggest that DBS at these two sites works on different brain circuits, one involving the medial prefrontal cortex and the other the lateral prefrontal cortex.

(Deep brain stimulation may significantly improve OCD symptoms, University of Cambridge)

Further experiments showed that the homeostatic mechanism worked specifically in the reward circuit running from the VTA to cells in a brain area called the nucleus accumbens.

(Self-tuning neurons promote resilience to stress, depression, NIH)

The researchers studies circuits that control a variety of disorders including stress, depression, addiction, and pain.

(Futuristic brain probe allows for wireless control of neurons, NIH)

This suggests that a lack of zinc during early development might contribute to autism through impaired synaptic maturation and neuronal circuit formation.

(Zinc Deficiency during Pregnancy Linked to Autism in Babies, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)