How to Use circumference in a Sentence

circumference

noun
  • The fence marks the circumference of the field.
  • What is the circumference of the Earth at the equator?
  • The circle is 38 inches in circumference.
  • This tall tree with a wide circumference will fill up a room.
    — Paige Szmodis, Popular Mechanics, 15 Sep. 2020
  • The tree that fell on Vasquez was at least six feet in circumference.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 8 July 2021
  • That’s longer from end to end than the circumference of the Earth.
    — Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 19 Feb. 2025
  • Maybe that’s what awaits us inside the circumference of the moat.
    — Chris Richards, Washington Post, 17 May 2023
  • Note the circumference of the shrub.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 1 Mar. 2026
  • The key is to make sure that the clip cannot wrap around the entire circumference of the child’s neck.
    — Bestreviews, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2025
  • The right cuff size—not too big and not too small—is based on the circumference of your mid-upper arm.
    — Carla Delgado, Verywell Health, 20 Sep. 2023
  • In this case the circumference of the push rim dictates how hard the chair will be to move forward.
    — Tim Heming, Outside Online, 10 Sep. 2021
  • Great circles are the paths around a sphere whose distance is equal to the circumference of that sphere.
    — Julissa Treviño, Smithsonian, 2 May 2018
  • The dough moves back and forth in his hands, slowly growing in circumference.
    — Sam Sifton Sam Sifton Sam Sifton, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2017
  • The world would keep on turning (with a circumference of 2πr).
    — Lorenzo Sadun, Slate Magazine, 14 Mar. 2017
  • This sandwich stacked with meat, cheese and olive spread is about the circumference of an outstretched hand.
    — Dallas News, 2 Sep. 2022
  • The first is waist circumference.
    — Lindsey Leake, NBC news, 24 Nov. 2025
  • This means that the inside of the wheel has a larger circumference than the outside of the wheel.
    — Svenja Lohner, Scientific American, 12 Sep. 2019
  • The face of one of his children was on his right forearm, the circumference of an office clock.
    — Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
  • To get your palm width, wrap a soft measuring tape all the way around the widest part of your hand and record the circumference.
    — Theresa Holland, Travel + Leisure, 5 Jan. 2024
  • That’s not enough of the planet’s circumference to see the horizon line begin to show off its curve.
    — Discover Magazine, 15 Nov. 2024
  • Water out to the tree's drip line, which is the area under the outer leaves or circumference of the tree.
    — Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 19 June 2017
  • The longest trail—a circumference of the entire ridge—is just under six miles.
    — Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2023
  • In just a second, light could go around the circumference of the Earth more than seven times.
    — Rhett Allain, Wired, 7 Jan. 2022
  • Its defining feature, by far, is a 10-acre lake with a circumference of over a mile.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 24 Mar. 2026
  • If the length of the rope is the same as the circumference of the fence, what is the maximum area upon which the horse can feed?
    — Quanta Magazine, 9 Dec. 2020
  • Its main beams are 27 inches long, with over 5-inch base circumferences.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 30 Oct. 2025
  • In the largest pythons, this translated to a circumference equal to a pair of 32-inch-waist jeans.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 24 Oct. 2024
  • The large circumference allows the rice to cook through while a crispy socarrat forms on the bottom of the pan.
    — José Andrés, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 May 2026
  • Iman arrived in what is very likely the outfit with the greatest circumference of the night.
    — Marci Robin, Allure, 13 Sep. 2021
  • This part of a car has a large center hole (for the axle) and usually four or five holes around the circumference (for bolts).
    — Cari Shane, Popular Science, 12 Feb. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'circumference.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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