circle the/one's wagons
idiom
chiefly US, informal
: to gather a group of people together in order to protect them from being attacked
—usually used figuratively
Reporters tend to circle the wagons whenever the media are attacked for bias.
Examples of circle the/one's wagons in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Media and leaders play up tribal connections Leaders and media know how to exploit our tribalism to circle the wagons.
—
Arash Javanbakht, The Conversation, 9 Aug. 2024
As Hoffman, Diller and other Silicon Valley and Wall Street megadonors circle the wagons to influence Harris’ policy positions, there may be more of a push by Hollywood unions and studios to leverage their political capital to advance their interests in merger enforcement.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 July 2024
Rather than circle the wagons, his own party started to circle him.
—Philip Wegmann, Orlando Sentinel, 25 July 2024
Elsewhere, settlers in a wagon train heading West, to Horizon, realize that they’ve been noticed by Native scouts; as supplies dwindle, the settlers circle the wagons in anticipation of an attack.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 28 June 2024
But if Putin suddenly disappears from the picture, his courtiers will face a stark choice: go down the road of Godunov and plunge the country into chaos or circle the wagons, avoid an internecine struggle, and enable all groups to elect a new president in emergency national elections.
—Vladislav Zubok, Foreign Affairs, 28 June 2023
On Monday, as the Wednesday night negotiation deadline between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) drew nearer, union leadership began to circle the wagons.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This was not a time to circle the wagons and protect those on the inside, foremost among them Green.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Oct. 2022
Although the team has tried to circle the wagons and shut out the noise, the tumult was clearly weighing heavily on the players, making Tuesday’s move inevitable.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2023
Arash Javanbakht, The Conversation, 9 Aug. 2024
As Hoffman, Diller and other Silicon Valley and Wall Street megadonors circle the wagons to influence Harris’ policy positions, there may be more of a push by Hollywood unions and studios to leverage their political capital to advance their interests in merger enforcement.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 July 2024
Rather than circle the wagons, his own party started to circle him.
—Philip Wegmann, Orlando Sentinel, 25 July 2024
Elsewhere, settlers in a wagon train heading West, to Horizon, realize that they’ve been noticed by Native scouts; as supplies dwindle, the settlers circle the wagons in anticipation of an attack.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 28 June 2024
But if Putin suddenly disappears from the picture, his courtiers will face a stark choice: go down the road of Godunov and plunge the country into chaos or circle the wagons, avoid an internecine struggle, and enable all groups to elect a new president in emergency national elections.
—Vladislav Zubok, Foreign Affairs, 28 June 2023
On Monday, as the Wednesday night negotiation deadline between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) drew nearer, union leadership began to circle the wagons.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This was not a time to circle the wagons and protect those on the inside, foremost among them Green.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Oct. 2022
Although the team has tried to circle the wagons and shut out the noise, the tumult was clearly weighing heavily on the players, making Tuesday’s move inevitable.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'circle the/one's wagons.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Circle the/one's wagons.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/circle%20the%2Fone%27s%20wagons. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
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