CIRCULATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does circulate mean? 

• CIRCULATE (verb)
  The verb CIRCULATE has 6 senses:

1. become widely known and passed on

2. cause to become widely known

3. cause to be distributed

4. move through a space, circuit or system, returning to the starting point

5. cause to move in a circuit or system

6. move around freely from person to person or from place to place

  Familiarity information: CIRCULATE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CIRCULATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they circulate    ... he / she / it circulates   
Past simple: circulated   
Past participle: circulated   
-ing form: circulating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Become widely known and passed on

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

circulate; go around; spread

Context example:

the story went around in the office

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

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

Verb group:

broadcast; circularise; circularize; circulate; diffuse; disperse; disseminate; distribute; pass around; propagate; spread (cause to become widely known)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cause to become widely known

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

broadcast; circularise; circularize; circulate; diffuse; disperse; disseminate; distribute; pass around; propagate; spread

Context example:

broadcast the news

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

air; bare; publicise; publicize (make public)

Cause:

circulate; go around; spread (become widely known and passed on)

Verb group:

circulate; go around; spread (become widely known and passed on)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "circulate"):

podcast (distribute (multimedia files) over the internet for playback on a mobile device or a personal computer)

sow (introduce into an environment)

generalise; generalize; popularise; popularize; vulgarise; vulgarize (cater to popular taste to make popular and present to the general public; bring into general or common use)

carry; run (include as the content; broadcast or publicize)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

circulation (the spread or transmission of something (as news or money) to a wider group or area)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause to be distributed

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

circulate; distribute; pass around; pass on

Context example:

This letter is being circulated among the faculty

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

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "circulate"):

send around (forward to others)

utter (put into circulation)

scatter; spread; spread out (strew or distribute over an area)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Derivation:

circular (an advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution)

circulation (the spread or transmission of something (as news or money) to a wider group or area)

circulation (the dissemination of copies of periodicals (as newspapers or magazines))

circulation (number of copies of a newspaper or magazine that are sold)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Move through a space, circuit or system, returning to the starting point

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The air here does not circulate

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

course; feed; flow; run (move along, of liquids)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "circulate"):

ventilate (circulate through and freshen)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

circulation (movement through a circuit; especially the movement of blood through the heart and blood vessels)

circulative (of or relating to circulation)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Cause to move in a circuit or system

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The fan circulates the air in the room

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

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Cause:

circulate (move through a space, circuit or system, returning to the starting point)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "circulate"):

convect (circulate hot air by convection)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

circulation (free movement or passage (as of cytoplasm within a cell or sap through a plant))

circulation (movement through a circuit; especially the movement of blood through the heart and blood vessels)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Move around freely from person to person or from place to place

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

She circulates among royalty

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

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

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "circulate"):

drift (move in an unhurried fashion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

 Context examples 

The pressure of the circulating blood against the walls of the blood vessels.

(Blood pressure, NCI Thesaurus)

The force of circulating blood on the walls of the arteries.

(Blood pressure, NCI Dictionary)

Thus, the attachment of beta-glucan to CR3 of circulating leukocytes simulates leukocytes to kill iC3b-coated tumor cells in the same way as they kill iC3b-coated yeast.

(Beta-glucan, NCI Thesaurus)

Antigen-stimulated circulating (resting) B cells proliferate and differentiate into plasma and memory B cell clones expressing immunoglobulins with the same antigen recognition site.

(B-Cell Differentiation, NCI Thesaurus)

The most prevalent of nonprotein nitrogenous compounds circulating in the blood used as an indicator of liver and kidney function.

(Blood Urea, NCI Thesaurus)

A tube through which the blood circulates in the body.

(Blood vessel, NCI Dictionary)

The metabolically-active portion of calcium, not bound to proteins, circulating in the blood.

(Calcium Cation, NCI Thesaurus)

Deficiency of C3 also impairs clearance of circulating immune complexes and therefore predisposes to rheumatic and renal disease.

(C3 Deficiency, NCI Thesaurus)

Prolonged administration of buserelin results in sustained inhibition of gonadotropin production, suppression of testicular and ovarian steroidogenesis, and reduced levels of circulating gonadotropin and gonadal steroids.

(Buserelin, NCI Thesaurus)

Bone marrow ablation followed by replacement of stem cells in the circulating blood to help the bone marrow recover and continue producing healthy blood cells.

(Bone Marrow Ablation with Stem Cell Support, NCI Thesaurus)