What does circumnavigate mean?
Word: Circumnavigate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Circumnavigate means to travel all the way round something, especially the world, usually by sea.
How do you spell circumnavigate?
Syllables: cir - cum - nav - i - gate
Tricky part: The opening fools the ear. It starts with an s sound, yet the letter is c, and the vowel after it is i rather than e.
Watch out for: sircumnavigate, cercumnavigate, curcumnavigate
Memory tip: A circus ring is round, and so is this kind of trip, so let circus lead you to the opening letters.
Circumnavigate in a sentence
Example 1: Sailor Abhilash Tomy became the first Indian to circumnavigate the world alone and without stopping.
Example 2: Our geography teacher showed us the route used to circumnavigate Africa in the age of sail.
Example 3: The solar plane took more than a year to circumnavigate the globe.
Fun Fact
The first fleet on record to sail round the world left Spain under Ferdinand Magellan in 1519. Juan Sebastian Elcano brought its last ship home in 1522.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Fill in the blanks with the correct letters:
circumn_v_g_te
a) a, i, e
b) e, i, a
c) a, a, a
d) a, i, a
Show answer
d) a, i, a. The later part is the word navigate, steering a ship.
Word Cookie
One letter in this word is not needed. Find it:
circummnavigate
a) m
b) c
c) u
d) n
Show answer
a) m. The m stands alone, just before the n.
Mingle-Mangle
The sentence contains a jumbled word. Choose the word it hides:
The crew of the little yacht hoped to ecuniacmgiatrv the globe in under a year.
a) circumscribe
b) circumnavigate
c) contaminate
d) communicate
Show answer
b) circumnavigate. A v is among the jumbled letters, and only one option contains it.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are misspelt. Choose the meaning of the one spelt correctly.
1. expidition 2. compas 3. circumnavigate 4. voyaje
a) a long trip, especially by sea or in space
b) to complete a full loop of a place by ship or plane
c) an instrument with a needle that shows north
d) an organised trip made for a special purpose
Show answer
b) to complete a full loop of a place by ship or plane. Circumnavigate alone is right here; expedition, voyage and compass are the correct forms of the rest.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A yacht race asks crews to circumnavigate Sri Lanka. Where will the boats finish?
a) on the far side of the island
b) at the nearest Indian port
c) back where they started
d) halfway along the east coast
Show answer
c) back where they started
2. Which of these trips goes all the way round the planet?
a) A week's cruise along the Kerala shore
b) Chennai straight across to Port Blair
c) Goa to Mumbai and back along the coast
d) Mumbai to Mumbai heading east the whole way
Show answer
d) Mumbai to Mumbai heading east the whole way
