# circulate

/ˈsɝkjəˌɫeɪt/ (US) · /sˈɜːkjʊlˌeɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/circulate
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. move through a system

verb · CEFR B2

to move continuously through a closed system, like blood in your body or air in a room.

For teachers: to move through a circuit or closed system and return to the starting point.

- The fan helps the cool air circulate through the entire office.
- In a healthy cardiovascular system, blood must circulate efficiently to deliver oxygen to the extremities and return to the heart.

### 2. spread information

verb · CEFR B2

to pass something, like a document or a story, from one person to another.

For teachers: to disseminate information, documents, or rumours within a group or to the public.

- They will circulate the meeting notes to everyone by tomorrow morning.
- The internal memo began to circulate among the staff long before the management made an official announcement regarding the merger.

### 4. repeating decimals

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical

when a group of numbers at the end of a decimal repeats forever.

For teachers: to recur or repeat infinitely, specifically referring to a digit or sequence of digits in a decimal fraction.

- In the fraction one-third, the digit three will circulate forever as a decimal.
- The student noted that the decimal representation of one-seventh contains six digits that circulate in a fixed sequence.

## Examples

- The fans help the air circulate through the room.
- The manager asked the staff to circulate the new safety memo to every department by the end of the day.
- In a healthy ecosystem, nutrients circulate through the soil and water, sustaining a diverse range of organisms that eventually return those same elements to the earth.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.