circuit

/ˈsɜː.kɪt/

//ˈsɜː.kɪt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"circuit" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“circuit” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,154. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,154
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of moving or revolving around, or as in a circle or orbit; a revolution

Corpus desk

Index EN-circuit · circuit · English

circuit · rank #3,154 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,154
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH clothing

Nearest frequency peer: clothing (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “circuit”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “circuit” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

circuit vs circus
71% similar
circuit vs circuitry
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for circuit
PropertyValue
Headwordcircuit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɜː.kɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,154
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “circuit”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).circuitlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “clothing” (#3,155), “chart” (#3,152), “complicated” (#3,156). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “circuit” is #3,154. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around circuit (IPA /ˈsɜː.kɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,154 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 16 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for circuit, with forms such as "ccircuit", "cicruit", and "circcuit". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "circus", "circuitry", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English circuit, from Old French circuit, from Latin circuitus (“a going round”), from circuire (“go round”), from circum (“around”) + ire. The correct English form is circuit, spelled C-I-R-C-U-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of moving or revolving around, or as in a circle or orbit; a revolution
  2. 2
    The circumference of, or distance around, any space; the measure of a line around an area.
  3. 3
    That which encircles anything, as a ring or crown.
  4. 4
    The space enclosed within a circle, or within limits.
  5. 5
    Enclosed path of an electric current, usually designed for a certain function.
  6. 6
    A regular or appointed trip from place to place as part of one's job
  7. 7
    The jurisdiction of certain judges within a state or country, whether itinerant or not.
  8. 8
    Abbreviation of circuit court.
  9. 9
    The basic grouping of local Methodist churches.
  10. 10
    A set of theaters among which the same acts circulate; especially common in the heyday of vaudeville.
  11. 11
    A track on which a race is held; a racetrack
  12. 12
    circumlocution
  13. 13
    A thought that unconsciously goes round and round in a person's mind and controls that person.
  14. 14
    A closed trail.
  15. 15
    A chain of cinemas/movie theaters.
  16. 16
    A single completion of all of the exercises in a circuit training regime.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how circuit appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. After 27 days the moon has made one circuit among the stars, moving from west to east. But in those 27 days the sun has likewise moved eastwardly, about 27 degrees. The moon, then, has to make one circuit and a little more in order to be again in the line joining the earth and sun, in order to be again 'new.'
  2. In the future, he says, a focus on the hate circuit may open new avenues for treatment – including new drugs and psychotherapies – that target this and other specific circuits in the brain.

Etymology

From Middle English circuit, from Old French circuit, from Latin circuitus (“a going round”), from circuire (“go round”), from circum (“around”) + ire.

Synonyms

periplus

This word in other languages

circuito(Español)circuit(Français)Umlauf(Deutsch)circuito(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccircuit
  • cicruit
  • circcuit
  • circiut
  • circuitt
  • circuti
  • cirrcuit
  • cirucit
  • cricuit
  • icrcuit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of circuit - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccircuit1cicruit2circcuit1circiut2circuitt1circuti2cirrcuit1cirucit2
Edit distance from "circuit"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "circuit"?
"circuit" is spelled C-I-R-C-U-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɜː.kɪt/.
What does "circuit" mean?
As a noun, "circuit" means: The act of moving or revolving around, or as in a circle or orbit; a revolution
What words are commonly confused with "circuit"?
"circuit" is commonly confused with "circus", "circuitry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "circuit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "circuit" is /ˈsɜː.kɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "circuit"?
From Middle English circuit, from Old French circuit, from Latin circuitus (“a going round”), from circuire (“go round”), from circum (“around”) + ire. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "circuit", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chamber#3,151divided#3,160fishing#3,164joining#3,175

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

attended10 variantssupplies10 variantsstable10 variantssessions10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list