circuit
/ˈsəːkɪt
/noun
1A roughly circular line, route, or movement that starts and finishes at the same place: I ran a circuit of the village...
- The circuit was almost finished, and I was second.
- He finished a circuit around the main square.
- Grunting, he picked up one sack, bearing it with him as he finished the circuit of the booths.
Synonyms
lap, turn, tour, round, circle, orbit, revolution, loop;
beat
1.1British A track used for motor racing, horse racing, or athletics: Hockenheim was a fast circuit but was regarded as one of the safest...
- Talladega is still the fastest track on the circuit.
- Imola is a nice track and a special circuit to open this part of the calendar.
- After the first two days of testing, the official drivers swapped circuits.
Synonyms
track, racetrack, running track, course
2An established itinerary of events or venues used for a particular activity, typically involving sport or public performance: the alternative cabaret circuit...
- A growing theatre company is developing its circuit of rural venues by bringing a piece of contemporary dynamite to local stages.
- She secured the coveted title of Sports Personality of the Year based on her outstanding performances on the international circuit last year.
- The comedian has been a regular performer at major venues on the national circuit.
2.1A series of athletic exercises performed consecutively in one training session: [as modifier]: circuit training...
- If your hotel has a fitness center, this is the day to add a light circuit of resistance training to work all your muscles.
- There will also be a five-week circuit training course beginning on January 12.
- Performing a circuit workout once or twice a week will at least keep you in the habit of training.
2.2A regular journey made by a judge around a particular district to hear cases in court: [as modifier]: a circuit judge...
- The circuit court judge who heard the case at trial directed the jury to find for the plaintiff.
- A neighbours' squabble over late-night noise ended in court before a circuit judge, 12 jurors and two barristers.
- It was the kind of decision that the liberal judges on the circuit normally ask the court to rehear.
Synonyms
tour, tour of duty, rounds;
regular journey
rare peregrination
2.3A district administered or formerly administered by travelling judges: the six circuits of England and Wales replaced the old system of assizes...
- The country was divided by Henry II into six judicial circuits for the purpose of bringing royal justice to all regions.
- Six tourism circuits will be identified for development to international standards during 2002-03.
- The commissioners were major lay and ecclesiastical lords with only small landholdings in the shires of the circuit.
2.4A group of local Methodist Churches forming an administrative unit: the success of any chapel or Methodist circuit depended on the minister...
- There are other churches on the Methodist circuit in Accrington so there might be other people in other churches prepared to help.
- The cathedral is set to be packed for the service, with all tickets already distributed through deaneries and Methodist circuits.
- There are currently around 11 Methodist churches in the Keighley circuit.
2.5A chain of theatres or cinemas under a single management: the company also bought cinema circuits in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia...
- In more than 20 years of studying the Odeon cinema circuit, he had seen this kind of scenario enacted many times.
3A complete and closed path around which a circulating electric current can flow: the maximum number of light fittings on a circuit is twelve...
- He had learned that an inductance coil was a closed circuit with no current of its own.
- When the charges connect, effectively closing a circuit, electric energy flows along that jagged path.
- When air is brought into contact with the second electrode, current flows through any circuit linking the two electrodes.
3.1A system of electrical conductors and components forming an electrical circuit: control circuits...
- She cannot list the major components in an electrical circuit even though they were described in the chapter.
- Power electronics technology uses electronic circuits to convert and control electric energy with optimum efficiency.
- The components of the circuit are checked against specific parameters.
verb [with object]
Move all the way around (a place or thing): the trains will follow the Northern line, circuiting the capital...
- You will accompany me as we backtrack through art's history, before circuiting the globe in pursuit of art's diverse manifestations.
- There is a railway with model trains circuiting the room.
- An American couple, circuiting the perimeter, had just visited HMS Britannia.
Origin
Late Middle English: via Old French from Latin circuitus, from circuire, variant of circumire 'go round', from circum 'around' + ire 'go'.
circle from Old English:
The root of circle is Latin circulus ‘small ring’, from circus ‘ring’, the source of our word circus (Late Middle English). A Roman circus was a rounded or oval arena lined with tiers of seats, where chariot races, gladiatorial combats, and other, often cruel, contests took place. Names like Piccadilly Circus were attached to open, more or less circular areas in towns where streets converged. Other words from the same root include circuit (Late Middle English) from Latin circum ire ‘go around’, and circulate (Late Middle English) ‘move in a circular path’. Come or turn full circle is a reference to ‘The Wheele is come full circle’ in Shakespeare's King Lear. The wheel is the one thought of as being turned by the goddess Fortune and symbolizing change.