n. 1 a a line or course enclosing an area; the distance round. b the area enclosed. 2 Electr. a the path of a current. b the apparatus through which a current passes. 3 a the journey of a judge in a particular district to hold courts. b this district. c the lawyers following a circuit. 4 a chain of theatres or cinemas etc. under a single management. 5 Brit. a motor-racing track. 6 a a sequence of sporting events (the US tennis circuit). b a sequence of athletic exercises. 7 a roundabout journey. 8 a a group of local Methodist churches forming a minor administrative unit. b the journey of an itinerant minister within this. circuit-breaker an automatic device for stopping the flow of current in an electrical circuit.
[ ME f. OF, f. L circuitus f. CIRCUM- + ire it- go ]