circulation
/səːkjʊˈleɪʃ(ə)n
/noun [mass noun]
1Movement to and fro or around something, especially that of fluid in a closed system: an extra pump for good water circulation...
- If any aspect of city life offers an opportunity for ‘reading the city’, it is the systems of movement and circulation which constitute urban transport.
- What could have caused deep waters to form in the low latitudes and so markedly disrupt the usual system of deep water circulation?
- Under the newly funded project, scientists have designed a system for monitoring coastal circulation and movement of distinct water types.
Synonyms
flow, motion, movement, course, passage
1.1The continuous motion by which the blood travels through all parts of the body under the action of the heart: three 20-minute sessions a week which make you breathe a bit harder can improve circulation...
- Fluid and proteins leak out of the blood vessels during blood circulation in the body.
- Physically, it is thought to improve circulation and stimulate red blood cells.
- This improves circulation, relieves pain, and relaxes tension in the muscles.
1.2The movement of sap through a plant.
2The public availability or knowledge of something: his music has achieved wide circulation...
- Academic science depends on the public circulation of knowledge and research.
- The province is halting the production of any new books-on-tape for public circulation, while existing material is still available libraries.
- I believe he has undermined the participatory principle of democracy in calling for the draft gender policy to be withdrawn from public circulation.
Synonyms
dissemination, spreading, communication, transmission, making known, putting about;
broadcasting, publication, propagation, promulgation;
distribution, diffusion, issuance
2.1The movement, exchange, or availability of money in a country: the new-look coins go into circulation today...
- That's just a small amount of extra money that came into circulation.
- This money would re-enter into circulation as financial institutions invest it in other capitalistic ventures.
- The gang plotted to put drugs money into normal circulation through betting.
2.2 [in singular] The number of copies sold of a newspaper or magazine: the magazine had a large circulation...
- Newspaper circulations everywhere have been falling for decades.
- But now the three newspapers with the highest circulations in the country are USA Today, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, all publications that are distributed nationally.
- Magazine circulations are either static, growing for some newer titles, or slowly sliding.
Synonyms
distribution, readership;
sales figures
Phrases
in (or out of) circulation
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting continuous distillation of a liquid): from Latin circulatio(n-), from the verb circulare (see circulate).