Circle Idioms (With Meaning and Examples)

Welcome to our fun guide on circle idioms! This post explains simple phrases related to circles. These idioms are so easy to understand, even a child can get the hang of them!

Circle Idioms

Here are 20 circle idioms in English with meaning and example sentence for each.

1. Full Circle

Meaning: Return to the original position or state.
Example: After all these years, we’ve come full circle.

2. Vicious Circle

Meaning: A repeating situation causing its own problems.
Example: He’s stuck in a vicious circle of debt.

3. Circle the Wagons

Meaning: Prepare to defend against an attack.
Example: The team circled the wagons when criticism started.

4. Square the Circle

Meaning: Do something impossible.
Example: Solving this puzzle is like squaring the circle.

5. Circle the Drain

Meaning: Close to failure or death.
Example: The company was circling the drain financially.

6. Inner Circle

Meaning: A small, exclusive group of people.
Example: He was not part of the inner circle of friends.

7. Run Circles Around

Meaning: Be vastly superior to.
Example: She can run circles around her competitors.

8. Circle Back

Meaning: Return to a previous point.
Example: Let’s circle back to the main topic later.

9. Come Full Circle

Meaning: Return to the starting point.
Example: His career has come full circle.

10. Circle of Trust

Meaning: A group of very trusted individuals.
Example: Only a few are in her circle of trust.

11. Expanding the Circle

Meaning: Include more people in a group.
Example: We’re expanding the circle of stakeholders.

12. Circle of Life

Meaning: Natural cycle of birth and death.
Example: The documentary showed the circle of life.

13. Circle of Influence

Meaning: The area one can control or impact.
Example: He increased his circle of influence at work.

14. Zero in a Circle

Meaning: Totally useless or ineffective.
Example: His efforts were a zero in a circle.

15. Family Circle

Meaning: Close family members.
Example: We keep these traditions in the family circle.

16. Talking in Circles

Meaning: Speaking without making progress.
Example: We’re just talking in circles here.

17. Break the Circle

Meaning: Stop a recurring pattern.
Example: He finally broke the circle of poverty.

18. Circle of Friends

Meaning: A close group of friends.
Example: She has a wide circle of friends.

19. Draw a Circle Around

Meaning: Highlight or focus on something.
Example: Draw a circle around the important dates.

20. Stand in a Circle

Meaning: Form a group in the shape of a circle.
Example: The students stood in a circle during the game.

Circle Idioms