Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

circle back

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.54 in modern English

Syllables: cir-cle back
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To return to a previous location or state; to come back to.

Intransitive verb

verb

To return to a previous topic of discussion; to bring up again.

Intransitive verb

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see circle, back.

Example Sentences

"I have to circle back to the office to pick up a few things."
"Well, a Palm Springs property known as Elvis Presley's honeymoon retreat has circled back on the market at $3.2 million – the same price as early this year."
"My goal is to hit "Amazing" by 7 a.m., which allows me to circle back to the puzzle all day, pick, pick, picking until I hit "Genius.""
"We eat dinner at 6 every day. I'm not proud of this, but I circle back to my work after dinner to get done what I need to do."
"We're out of time right now, but we can circle back on this tomorrow."
"It seems the phone numbers may be inoperative and some people may be in hiding, so I think we're going to be circling back with the government to check those numbers."

Etymology

Alluding to physically making a circle to order to return to one's starting point (as in sense 3).

Usage

Intransitive verb

Inflected Forms

circles back (present, singular) circling back (participle, present) circled back (participle, past) circled back (past)

Phrases

close the loop

Frequently Paired Words

close the loop

Questions

What does circle back mean?: To return to a previous location or state; to come back to.
Where does circle back come from?: Alluding to physically making a circle to order to return to one's starting point (as in sense 3).

How to pronounce circle back

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “circle back”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “circle back” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.