circuits

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of circuit.

   Engineers tested several circuits before approving the final design.

   The judge traveled between regional circuits to hear cases each season.

   Note

   One spelling serves two words: circuits is also the verb form meaning 'goes round'. As a plural, it follows every countable use of the noun. It can mean electrical paths on a board, the regular rounds a judge or inspector travels for work, or the distances around a space. Context tells them apart: an engineer's circuits are wired, while a judge's circuits are traveled.

2. 2
   verbobsolete

   Third-person singular simple present of circuit.

   The patrol vehicle circuits the perimeter fence throughout the night.

   Each spring the inspector circuits the county to examine its bridges.

   Note

   The verb behind this form is obsolete in both of its uses. One is intransitive and means to move in a circle or circulate. The other is transitive and means to travel around a place. A sentence like "the patrol circuits the fence" therefore sounds deliberate or old-fashioned. In everyday prose, goes round, circles or makes a circuit of says the same thing plainly.

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