circumnavigate

verb

cir·​cum·​nav·​i·​gate ˌsər-kəm-ˈna-və-ˌgāt 

circumnavigated; circumnavigating; circumnavigates

transitive verb

: to go completely around especially by water

circumnavigate the earth

also : to go around instead of through : bypass

circumnavigate a congested area

circumnavigation

ˌsər-kəm-ˌna-və-ˈgā-shən 

noun

circumnavigator

ˌsər-kəm-ˈna-və-ˌgā-tər 

noun

Synonyms of circumnavigate

• traverse
• circle
• orbit
• encircle
• cross
• circumvent
• circuit

Examples of circumnavigate in a Sentence

The ship circumnavigated the world.

the first ship to circumnavigate the globe

Recent Examples on the Web

Here again, actors deploying crypto’s financial heft crashed through boundaries that would have earlier been difficult for artists to circumnavigate without having achieved legitimacy through more conventional pathways in existing hierarchies. — Simon Denny, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

Those gains, of course, allowed the club to partially circumnavigate La Liga’s spending controls so, even as the club lops off chunks of value from the asset each year, the Byzantine structure of it all has certainly served a purpose. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

On Kidman’s five-night Reykjavik-to-Reykjavik itinerary the ship circumnavigates the country. — Chrissie McClatchie, Travel + Leisure, 21 Aug. 2026

That said, Amazon also has a history of disabling apps that let users circumnavigate its home screen that Fire devices, including Fire Sticks and Fire TVs, have increasingly used for ads. — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 30 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin circumnavigatus, past participle of circumnavigare to sail around, from circum- + navigare to navigate

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for circumnavigate

• borosilicate
• decontaminate
• deoxycholate
• deteriorate
• differentiate
• diisocyanate
• dinoflagellate
• excommunicate
• incapacitate
• insubordinate
• intercorporate
• interpenetrate

Kids Definition

circumnavigate

verb

cir·​cum·​nav·​i·​gate ˌsər-kəm-ˈnav-ə-ˌgāt 

: to go completely around especially by water

circumnavigate the earth

also : to go around instead of through : bypass

circumnavigation

-ˌnav-ə-ˈgā-shən 

noun