circle the wagons
circle the wagons verb: to draw a wagon train into a circle to allow the wagons to provide cover when under attack.
Verb
circle the wagons (third-person singular simple present circles the wagons, present participle circling the wagons, simple past and past participle circled the wagons)
- To draw a wagon train into a circle to allow the wagons to provide cover when under attack.
- To prepare to defend against an attack or criticism.
Forms of circle the wagons
| third-person singular present | circles the wagons |
|---|---|
| present participle | circling the wagons |
| past participle | circled the wagons |
| past | circled the wagons |
| alternative form | circle one's wagons |
Origin of circle the wagons
From the practice of drawing the wagons of a wagon-train into a circle to protect against attack, and also to keep cattle and other livestock within.
Questions about circle the wagons
- What does circle the wagons mean?
- Circle the wagons means to draw a wagon train into a circle to allow the wagons to provide cover when under attack.
- What part of speech is circle the wagons?
- Circle the wagons is a verb.
- What is the past tense of circle the wagons?
- The past tense of circle the wagons is circled the wagons.
Words near circle the wagons in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: circle the wagons (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-circle the wagons.ogg.
Cite this entry: “circle the wagons.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/circle_the_wagons. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.