What does cercle in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word cercle in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use cercle in French.

The word cercle in French means circle, sphere, circle, circle, cycle, circle, hoop, strap, strap up, arc of a circle, group of friends, study group, private gambling club, private gaming club, family circle, magic circle, Arctic Circle, virtuous circle, vicious circle, semicircle, enlarge your circle of friends, extend your circle of friends, in a semi-circle, in a small group, in a small circle, ring-necked duck, ring-billed gull, great circle, squaring the circle, quarter circle. To learn more, please see the details below.

Listen to pronunciation

Meaning of the word cercle

circle

nom masculin (rond)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La maîtresse entoure les fautes d'un cercle.
The teacher circles the mistakes.

sphere

nom masculin (domaine d'activité) (figurative)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Dans cette région, il élargit son cercle d'activités.
He is enlarging his sphere of activities in this region.

circle

nom masculin (courbe plane)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le petit garçon dessine un cercle en guise de tête.
The little boy draws a circle for a head.

circle

nom masculin (ensemble disposé en rond)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Assis en cercle, les enfants écoutent l'institutrice.
Sitting in a circle, the children listen to the teacher.

cycle

nom masculin (ce qui limite la liberté)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Il a brisé le cercle des interdits familiaux.
He has broken the cycle of family exclusion.

circle

nom masculin (association de personnes, local de réunion) (group)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les joueurs de bridge se retrouvent au cercle.
The bridge players meet at their local bridge circle.

hoop

verbe transitif (entourer [qch] d'un cercle)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Le tonnelier cercle les tonneaux.

strap, strap up

verbe transitif (entourer d'un lien)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Pour plus de sécurité nous cerclons les cartons avant leur expédition.

arc of a circle

nom masculin (tracé arrondi)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

group of friends

nom masculin (relations)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Nous sommes un bon cercle d'amis et nous nous retrouvons pour des sorties ensemble.

study group

nom masculin (groupe de recherche)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Un cercle d'études regroupe des personnes intéressées par un même sujet.

private gambling club, private gaming club

nom masculin (club de joueurs)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

family circle

nom masculin (famille élargie)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

magic circle

nom masculin (cercle au pouvoir surnaturel)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

Arctic Circle

nom masculin (zone de pôle terrestre)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

virtuous circle

nom masculin (concept économique) (economics)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

vicious circle

nom masculin (imbrication néfaste)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Moins on a d'activité physique et moins on a envie d'en faire, c'est un cercle vicieux !
The less physical activity we do, the less we want to do it; it's a vicious circle!

semicircle

nom masculin (moitié de cercle)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les enfants sont assis en demi-cercle devant le conteur.

enlarge your circle of friends

locution verbale (augmenter son nombre d'amis)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Cette nouvelle activité me permet d'élargir mon cercle d'amis.

extend your circle of friends

locution verbale (rencontrer de nouvelles personnes)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

in a semi-circle

locution adverbiale (en forme de courbe)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Les élèves étaient en arc de cercle autour du professeur.

in a small group, in a small circle

locution adverbiale (en petit comité)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

ring-necked duck

nom masculin (canard plongeur)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

ring-billed gull

nom masculin (type de goéland)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

great circle

locution adjectivale (géométrie : division d'une sphère)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

squaring the circle

nom féminin (figuré (problème insoluble)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
La politique financière relève souvent de la quadrature du cercle.

quarter circle

nom masculin (segment de cercle)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of cercle in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

Do you know about French

French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.