Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: Latin
Origin: , past participle of circumvenire 'to come around', from circum- ( CIRCUM-) + venire 'to come'

circumvent

 verb
     
cir‧cum‧vent [transitive] formal
1 to avoid a problem or rule that restricts you, especially in a clever or dishonest way - used to show disapproval:
The company opened an account abroad, in order to circumvent the tax laws.
2 to avoid something by changing the direction in which you are travelling:
We went north in order to circumvent the mountains.
—circumvention noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary