circle

«circle» in Mova's school dictionary: a round flat shape — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (circle, circles); verb (circle, circles, circled, circling)

meaning for a pupil

1) A circle is a round flat shape. Every point on its edge is the same distance from the middle (the centre). tree →

2) A circle of people or things is a group arranged in a ring. tree →

3) To circle something is to draw a ring around it: «circle the answer». tree →

4) To circle is to move round and round something: «the plane circled the airport». tree →

5) A circle of friends is a group of friends. tree →

6) A circle can also be one full round of time that ends where it began, such as a day or a year. tree →

sense in the lessons

In school maths: a shape with a centre, radius (centre to edge), diameter (edge to edge through the centre, twice the radius) and circumference (the distance around); things arranged in a circle (gaps equal things); «circle the right answer». In everyday life: circle time, sitting in a circle, a traffic circle (roundabout). Phrases: «in a circle», «circle the answer», «full circle», «circle time».

examples

• 6 children stand in a circle. tree →
• Trees are planted around a circle. tree →
• Circle the right answer. tree →
• Draw a circle with radius 3 cm. tree →
• The diameter of a circle is twice the radius. tree →
• We sat in a circle for circle time. tree →
• Eagles circled high above the hill. tree →
• A circle has no corners and no straight sides. tree →
• In a few moments the day had completed its circle. tree →

note

Countable: «a circle». A circle is flat; a ball (a sphere) is round in 3D. Maths: in a circle the number of gaps equals the number of things (not one less); diameter = 2 × radius. Trap: using the line rule (+1) on a circle.

In the corpora

• Bon Odori is a calm circle dance at Japan's summer Obon festival, which honours the spirits of ancestors.
• Baby elephants stay close to mothers and aunts, who circle them when lions or hyenas come; babies suck their trunks for comfort.
• Leafcutter bees wrap their rooms in neat circles cut from rose leaves.
• Teeth are brushed gently in small circles with a soft brush, because hard scrubbing hurts the gums and wears the teeth.
• Signs with a red circle usually give orders or say no.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «circle» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.