cir·cu·late (sûr?ky?-l?t?)v. cir·cu·lat·ed, cir·cu·lat·ing, cir·cu·lates v.intr.1. To move in or flow through a circle or circuit: blood circulating through the body.2. To move around, as from person to person or place to place: a guest circulating at a party.3. To move about or flow freely, as air.4. To spread widely among persons or places; disseminate: Gossip tends to circulate quickly.v.tr. To cause to move about or be distributed: Please circulate these fliers.[From Middle English circulat, continuously distilled, from Latin circul?tus, past participle of circul?re, to make circular, from circulus, circle; see circle.]cir?cu·la?tive (-l??t?v) adj.cir?cu·la?tor n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.