Circuitous means taking a long, winding, indirect route instead of going straight to your destination. If you walk to school by a circuitous path, you might zigzag through several neighborhoods instead of following the direct route down Main Street.

A circuitous route doesn't have to be perfectly circular, but it involves unnecessary twists and turns. Imagine tracing a spiral on paper instead of drawing a straight line: that's the difference between a circuitous path and a direct one.

People also use the word to describe roundabout ways of speaking or thinking. If someone gives a circuitous explanation, they take forever to get to the point, adding tangents and detours along the way. A student might give a circuitous answer to a simple question, talking about everything except what the teacher asked.

Sometimes circuitous routes happen by accident, like when you get lost. Other times people choose them deliberately: maybe you take a circuitous walk home because you want to avoid someone, or perhaps you want extra thinking time before facing a difficult conversation. The key idea is always indirectness, taking the long way when a shorter path exists.