Meaning & use
circumpolar
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparabletechnical
Located around or near the North or South Pole.
Grammar: Used before a noun; it does not usually take 'more' or 'most'.
Patterns
- circumpolar + noun
The circumpolar region is home to animals such as polar bears and penguins.
Cold circumpolar winds sweep across the southern ocean.
Scientists study circumpolar ecosystems to understand climate change.
adjectivenot comparabletechnical
Of a star: never setting below the horizon at a particular latitude.
Grammar: Used in astronomy; often before 'star', 'constellation', or after the verb 'be'.
Patterns
- circumpolar star
- circumpolar constellation
- be circumpolar
At high northern latitudes, the Big Dipper is circumpolar.
These circumpolar stars can be seen all night long.
From the equator, no stars are circumpolar.
Common combinations
- circumpolar region
- The circumpolar region includes parts of Alaska, Canada, and Russia.
- circumpolar star
- Polaris is a well-known circumpolar star in the Northern Hemisphere.
- circumpolar current
- The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the largest ocean current on Earth.
Synonyms and how they differ
- polar
- Polar means relating to the poles in general, while circumpolar specifically means around or near the poles.
Word family
- circumpolarity noun
- The state or quality of being circumpolar.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'circumpolar' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct answer is B because 'circumpolar' describes a star that never sets at a given latitude. An is wrong because polar bears are not called 'circumpolar bears' (the adjective would describe regions or stars, not the animal itself). C and D use 'circumpolar' with unrelated nouns where it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “circumpolar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.