circulation

Noun

circulation (countable and uncountable, plural circulations)

1. The act of moving in a circle, or in a course which brings the moving body to the place where its motion began.
2. The act of passing from place to place or person to person; free diffusion; transmission.
   • For example, by changing the use of existing rooms, removing or replacing unsightly features, clearing obstacles to easy circulation, rearranging direction signs and generally introducing as much order as possible, most outdated station buildings can be made reasonably efficient and attractive.1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, page 252
3. Currency; circulating coins; notes, bills, etc., current for coin.
   • The new bills will come into circulation next Friday.
4. The extent to which anything circulates or is circulated; the measurement of diffusion, especially the number of copies sold of a publication.
   • June 1 2016, Karen Roberts in the Evening Express, Aberdeen Journals - The Broad Street Years
     The reputation and circulation of the paper continued to grow, and the board decided a new custom-built base was required for both the Press and Journal and Evening Express to replace the crumbling, but...
   • Print circulation across the top 50 US magazines fell 5% year-on-year.2025 March 7, Bron Maher, “Top 50 magazines in the US: The Atlantic is fastest growing title in second half of 2024”, in Press-Gazette
5. (strictly) The movement of the blood in the circulatory system, by which it is brought into close relations with the cells and tissues of the body; (loosely) the circulatory system.
   • In the dead state all is apparently without motion. No agent within indicates design, intelligence, or foresight: there is no respiration; no digestion, circulation, or nutrition; […]1822, John Barclay, chapter I, in An Inquiry Into the Opinions, Ancient and Modern, Concerning Life and Organization, Edinburgh; London: Bell & Bradfute; Waugh & Innes; G. & W. B. Whittaker, section...
6. The movement of the sap in the vessels and tissues of plants.