<B>circle eight,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an evolution in figure skating in which the skater forms an entire circle on one foot and then an adjoining and equal-sized circle on the other foot. </DL>
<A NAME="circlegraph">
<B>circle graph,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a graph that shows the relation of the parts of anything to the whole; pie chart. </DL>
<A NAME="circleofconfusion">
<B>circle of confusion,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Optics.) a point of light which is imaged as a small circle because of aberration of the photographic lens. The size of the circular image is used to calculate focal sharpness in photography. </DL>
<A NAME="circleofcurvature">
<B>circle of curvature,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Geometry.) the circle which serves to measure the curvature of a curve at a given point. </DL>
<A NAME="circleofdeclination">
<B>circle of declination,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) a great circle of the sphere, the plane of which is perpendicular to the equator. </DL>
<A NAME="circleoffire">
<B>circle of fire,</B> =ring of fire.</DL>
<A NAME="circleofhaller">
<B>circle of Haller,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Anatomy.) a circle of connecting arterioles on the sclerotic surrounding the optic nerve. </DL>
<A NAME="circleofillumination">
<B>circle of illumination,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) terminator. </DL>
<A NAME="circleoflatitude">
<B>circle of latitude,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Astronomy.) a great circle perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic, on which celestial latitudes are measured. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Geography.) a parallel of latitude. </DL>
<A NAME="circleofleastconfusion">
<B>circle of least confusion,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Optics.) the minimum diameter of the circle of confusion, in which the image obtained is theoretically in correct focus. </DL>
<A NAME="circleoflongitude">
<B>circle of longitude,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) an imaginary great circle through the poles of the earth. </DL>
<A NAME="circleofposition">
<B>circle of position,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a circle on the surface of the earth, having as its center the point on the earth directly beneath a heavenly body and as its radius the distance of the body from the observer's zenith. It is used especially as a means of determining the exact position of an aircraft or vessel. </DL>
<A NAME="circleofthesphere">
<B>circle of the sphere,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) a circle described on the sphere of the earth or the heavens. The equator, the ecliptic, the meridians, and the parallels of latitude are all circles of the sphere. </DL>
<A NAME="circleofwillis">
<B>circle of Willis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Anatomy.) a circle formed by several connecting cerebral arteries at the base of the brain. </DL>
<A NAME="circlet">
<B>circlet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a small circle. <DD><B> 2. </B>a round ornament worn on the head, neck, arm, or finger, especially a headband. </DL>
<A NAME="circlewise">
<B>circlewise, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in the manner of a circle. </DL>
<A NAME="circling">
<B>circling, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (in the game of marbles) the act of selecting the best location outside the ring for knuckling down. </DL>
<A NAME="circlingdisease">
<B>circling disease,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an infectious disease of the brain of cattle, sheep, swine, and less commonly other species of animals and man, caused by a bacterium and characterized by the affected animals' walking in circles. </DL>
<A NAME="circlip">
<B>circlip, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a washer in the form of a partial ring. </DL>
<A NAME="circs">
<B>circs, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Informal.) circumstances. <BR> <I>Ex. In the circs, as the author might have remarked, the bally Sword of Damocles ... seemed a rusty weapon indeed (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="circuit">
<B>circuit, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>the action of going around; a moving around; a trip around. <BR> <I>Ex. The earth takes a year to make its circuit of the sun.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a roundabout course; detour. <BR> <I>Ex. They ... could only advance by long circuits (Elisha K. Kane).</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>the route over which a person or group makes repeated journeys at certain times. <BR> <I>Ex. Some judges make a circuit, stopping at certain towns along the way to hold court. Some theater companies travel over regular circuits.</I> (SYN) way, course. <DD><B> b. </B>the persons making such a circuit. <BR> <I>Ex. a leading member of the circuit.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>the part of the country through which such journeys are made. <BR> <I>Ex. The circuit includes Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the district under the jurisdiction of a circuit court. <DD><B> 4. </B>a territorial division of Methodist churches, served by an itinerant preacher or a group of itinerant preachers. <BR> <I>Ex. The Societies in this circuit increase (John Wesley).</I> <DD><B> 5a. </B>the complete path, or a part of it, over which an electric current flows. A circuit usually includes the generating apparatus. When the path of the current is complete so that the electricity is free to flow, the circuit is a <I>closed</I> or <I>made circuit;</I> if interrupted at any point, it is an <I>open</I> or <I>broken circuit.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>an arrangement of wiring, tubes, transistors, or other electronic components forming electrical connections; hookup. <DD><B> c. </B>a diagram showing the connections of such an arrangement; hookup. <DD><B> 6a. </B>a number of theaters under the same management and presenting the same shows. <DD><B> b. </B>a number of places at which performers, speakers, etc., appear regularly or at certain times. <BR> <I>Ex. the night club circuit, the lecture circuit.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>(U.S.) an association or league of sports teams. <BR> <I>Ex. the best club in the circuit.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>the distance around any space. <DD><B> 8. </B>the line enclosing any space. <BR> <I>Ex. a rude circuit of stones (George Grote).</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>the space enclosed. <BR> <I>Ex. The sound, that fills the circuit of the world around (Alexander Pope).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to pass or travel around; make the circuit of. <BR> <I>Ex. some ... comet, circuiting the sun in about eleven years (Richard Anthony Proctor).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to go in a circuit; revolve. <BR> <I>Ex. the moon as she circuits round the earth (Richard Anthony Proctor).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="circuitbreaker">
<B>circuit breaker,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a switch that automatically interrupts an electric circuit when the current gets too strong. <BR> <I>Ex. Circuit breakers can be used in place of fuses (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. Economics.) a rebate on property tax or income tax granted by a state to certain taxpayers, such as persons over 65, whenever the tax exceeds a specified percentage of income. </DL>
<A NAME="circuitcourt">
<B>circuit court,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a court whose judges hold, or used to hold, court first at one place, then at another, in regular sequence through a district. </DL>
<A NAME="circuitcourtofappeals">
<B>circuit court of appeals,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) any one of a system of nine courts of appeal set up by the Congress in 1891, one for each of the then existing federal judicial circuits. There are now eleven such courts, since 1948 officially designated United States Courts of Appeals. </DL>
<A NAME="circuitous">
<B>circuitous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> not direct; roundabout. <BR> <I>Ex. We took a circuitous route home to avoid poor roads.</I> (SYN) indirect, devious. adv. <B>circuitously.</B> noun <B>circuitousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="circuitrider">
<B>circuit rider,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a preacher who rides from place to place over a circuit to preach. Methodist circuit riders were common in the 1800's. <BR> <I>Ex. But while the circuit rider of 1900 was a preacher on horseback, the 1950 circuit rider is a public health worker in an automobile or jeep (Science News Letter).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="circuitry">
<B>circuitry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the science of electrical or electronic circuits. <BR> <I>Ex. Advances in circuitry ... are providing faster, more efficient, and more compact computer packages (Vin Zeluff).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the wiring, tubes, transistors, printed elements, or other electronic components comprising a circuit. <BR> <I>Ex. The complete operation is controlled within the circuitry of the machine (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="circuity">
<B>circuity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>circuitous quality. <DD><B> 2. </B>a roundabout manner of moving or acting. <BR> <I>Ex. The correspondence must involve circuities (Thomas Jefferson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="circulable">
<B>circulable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be circulated. </DL>
<A NAME="circular">
<B>circular, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>round like a circle. <BR> <I>Ex. The full moon has a circular shape.</I> (SYN) rounded, spherical, orbicular. <DD><B> 2. </B>moving in a circle; going around a circle. <BR> <I>Ex. A merry-go-round makes a circular trip.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>having to do with a circle, or its mathematical properties. <BR> <I>Ex. circular arc, circular function, circular measure.</I> <DD><B> 4a. </B>sent to each of a number of people. <BR> <I>Ex. a circular letter.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>affecting or relating to a circle or number of persons. <BR> <I>Ex. An old lady ... came from a distant part of the county to pay a circular visit among her relations (Mrs. Mary Martha Sherwood).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>roundabout; indirect; circuitous. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Figurative.) happening in a cycle, especially a repetitious cycle. <BR> <I>Ex. a circular chain of events.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>(Obsolete.) cyclic. <DD><I>noun </I> a letter, notice, or advertisement sent to each of a number of people. adv. <B>circularly.</B> noun <B>circularness.</B> </DL>
