polar circle
noun
: either of the two parallels of latitude each at a distance from a pole of the earth equal to about 23 degrees 27 minutes
Examples of polar circle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Because the Earth rotates on a tilted axis at 23.5 degrees, there are periods of the year when the areas located in the polar circles on the top and bottom of our planet are either completely obscured from or completely exposed to the light of the sun.
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Cecilia Blomdahl, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
Around 50 million years ago, a lush, ‘tropical-like’ forest thrived near the polar circle.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 6 Sep. 2024
Priced at $72,000, the Brilliant Skeleton Northern Lights pays homage to the hypnotizing natural phenomenon, Aurora Borealis, which occurs in the skies near the polar circle.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 18 May 2024
At that time, the Australian state of Victoria – where volunteers first found the fossils in the late 1980s – would have crossed into the polar circle, meaning it would’ve been covered in darkness for weeks on end during the winter.
—Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 1 June 2023
Sailing along the western Antarctic Peninsula from the South Shetland Islands down to the polar circle, guests do things like record the temperature and salinity of seawater to aid the vital mission of tracking the impact of melting glaciers in one of the fastest-warming spots on earth.
—Mark Johanson, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 July 2021
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Cecilia Blomdahl, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
Around 50 million years ago, a lush, ‘tropical-like’ forest thrived near the polar circle.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 6 Sep. 2024
Priced at $72,000, the Brilliant Skeleton Northern Lights pays homage to the hypnotizing natural phenomenon, Aurora Borealis, which occurs in the skies near the polar circle.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 18 May 2024
At that time, the Australian state of Victoria – where volunteers first found the fossils in the late 1980s – would have crossed into the polar circle, meaning it would’ve been covered in darkness for weeks on end during the winter.
—Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 1 June 2023
Sailing along the western Antarctic Peninsula from the South Shetland Islands down to the polar circle, guests do things like record the temperature and salinity of seawater to aid the vital mission of tracking the impact of melting glaciers in one of the fastest-warming spots on earth.
—Mark Johanson, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 July 2021
Cite this Entry
“Polar circle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polar%20circle. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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