circle()

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since ⁨January 2020⁩.

The circle() CSS function defines a circle using a radius and a position. It is one of the <basic-shape> data types.

Try it

clip-path: circle(50px);
clip-path: circle(6rem at right center);
clip-path: circle(10% at 2rem 90%);
clip-path: circle(closest-side at 5rem 6rem);
clip-path: circle(farthest-side);
<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
  <div class="transition-all" id="example-element"></div>
</section>
#default-example {
  background: #ffee99;
}

#example-element {
  background: linear-gradient(to bottom right, #ff5522, #0055ff);
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
}

Syntax

css
shape-outside: circle(50%);
clip-path: circle(6rem at 12rem 8rem);

Values

<shape-radius>

This may be a <length>, or a <percentage> or values closest-side and farthest-side.

closest-side

Uses the length from the center of the shape to the closest side of the reference box. For circles, this is the closest side in any dimension.

farthest-side

Uses the length from the center of the shape to the farthest side of the reference box. For circles, this is the farthest side in any dimension.

<position>

Moves the center of the circle. May be a <length>, or a <percentage>, or a values such as left. The <position> value defaults to center if omitted.

Formal syntax

<circle()> = 
circle( <radial-size>? [ at <position> ]? )

<radial-size> =
<radial-extent> |
<length [0,∞]> |
<length-percentage [0,∞]>{2}

<position> =
<position-one> |
<position-two> |
<position-four>

<radial-extent> =
closest-corner |
closest-side |
farthest-corner |
farthest-side

<length-percentage> =
<length> |
<percentage>

<position-one> =
left |
center |
right |
top |
bottom |
x-start |
x-end |
y-start |
y-end |
block-start |
block-end |
inline-start |
inline-end |
<length-percentage>

<position-two> =
[ left | center | right | x-start | x-end ] && [ top | center | bottom | y-start | y-end ] |
[ left | center | right | x-start | x-end | <length-percentage> ] [ top | center | bottom | y-start | y-end | <length-percentage> ] |
[ block-start | center | block-end ] && [ inline-start | center | inline-end ] |
[ start | center | end ]{2}

<position-four> =
[ [ left | right | x-start | x-end ] <length-percentage> ] && [ [ top | bottom | y-start | y-end ] <length-percentage> ] |
[ [ block-start | block-end ] <length-percentage> ] && [ [ inline-start | inline-end ] <length-percentage> ] |
[ [ start | end ] <length-percentage> ]{2}

Examples

Basic circle

In the example below, the shape-outside property has a value of circle(50%), which defines a circle on a floated element for the text to flow round.

html
<div class="box">
  <img
    alt="A hot air balloon"
    src="https://mdn.github.io/shared-assets/images/examples/round-balloon.png" />
  <p>
    One November night in the year 1782, so the story runs, two brothers sat
    over their winter fire in the little French town of Annonay, watching the
    grey smoke-wreaths from the hearth curl up the wide chimney. Their names
    were Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier, they were papermakers by trade, and
    were noted as possessing thoughtful minds and a deep interest in all
    scientific knowledge and new discovery. Before that night—a memorable night,
    as it was to prove—hundreds of millions of people had watched the rising
    smoke-wreaths of their fires without drawing any special inspiration from
    the fact.
  </p>
</div>
css
body {
  font: 1.2em / 1.5 sans-serif;
}
img {
  float: left;
  shape-outside: circle(50%);
}

Specifications

Specification
CSS Shapes Module Level 1
# funcdef-basic-shape-circle

Browser compatibility

See also