Search

[round] /raʊnd/
adjective, rounder, roundest.
having a flat, circular surface, as a disk.
ring-shaped, as a hoop.
curved like part of a circle, as an outline.
having a circular cross section, as a cylinder; cylindrical.
spherical or globular, as a ball.
shaped more or less like a part of a sphere; hemispherical.
free from angularity; consisting of full, curved lines or shapes, as handwriting or parts of the body.
executed with or involving circular motion.
full, complete, or entire:
a round dozen.
noting, formed, or expressed by an integer or whole number with no fraction.
expressed, given, or exact to the nearest multiple or power of ten; in tens, hundreds, thousands, or the like:
in round numbers.
roughly correct; approximate:
a round guess.
considerable in amount; ample:
a round sum of money.
brought to completeness or perfection.
full and sonorous, as sound.
vigorous or brisk:
a round trot.
straightforward, plain, or candid; outspoken:
a round scolding.
positive or unqualified:
a round -ssertion.
noun
any round shape, as a circle, ring or sphere.
a circular, ring-shaped, curved, or spherical object; a rounded form.
something circular in cross section, as a rung of a ladder or chair.
sometimes, rounds. a completed course of time, series of events or operations, etc., ending at a point corresponding to that at the beginning:
we waited through the round of many years.
any complete course, series, or succession:
the strike was settled after a long round of talks; a round of parties.
often, rounds. a going around from place to place, as in a habitual or definite circuit:
a doctor’s rounds.
a completed course or spell of activity, commonly one of a series, in some play or sport:
the second round of a tournament.
a recurring period of time, succession of events, duties, etc.:
the daily round.
an entire range:
the round of human capabilities.
a single outburst, as of applause or cheers.
a single discharge of shot by each of a number of guns, rifles, etc.
a single discharge by one firearm.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot.
a single serving, especially of drink, made more or less simultaneously to everyone present, as at table or at a bar:
the next round is on me.
round dance.
movement in a circle or around an axis.
cookery.

also, round of beef. the portion of the thigh of beef below the rump and above the leg.
informal. round steak.

a slice, as of bread.
archery. a specified number of arrows shot from a specified distance from the target in accordance with the rules.
one of a series of three-minute periods making up a boxing match:
a 15-round bout.
music.

a short, rhythmical canon at the unison, in which the several voices enter at equally sp-ced intervals of time.
rounds, the order followed in ringing a peal of bells in diatonic sequence from the highest to the lowest.

golf. a playing of the complete course.
cards. a division of play in a game, consisting of a turn each for every player to bid, bet, play a card, deal the cards, or be dealt cards.
adverb
throughout or from the beginning to the end of a recurring period of time:
all year round.
also, ’round. around:
the music goes round and round.
preposition
throughout (a period of time):
a resort visited all round the year.
around:
it happened round noon.
verb (used with object)
to make round.
to free from angularity; fill out symmetrically; make plump.
to bring to completeness or perfection; finish.
jewelry. to form (a gem) roughly (sometimes followed by up); girdle.
to end (a sentence, paragraph, etc.) with something specified:
he rounded his speech with a particularly apt quotation.
to encircle or surround.
to make a complete circuit of; p-ss completely around.
to make a turn or partial circuit around or to the other side of:
to round a corner.
to cause to move in a circle; turn around.
phonetics.

to make the opening at (the lips) relatively round or pursed during an utterance.
to pr-nounce (a speech sound, especially a vowel) with rounded lips; l-b–lize.
to contract (the lips) laterally.
compare spread (def 14), unround.

mathematics. to replace by the nearest multiple of 10, with 5 being increased to the next highest multiple: 15,837 can be rounded to 15,840; then to 15,800; then to 16,000.
verb (used without object)
to become round.
to become free from angularity; become plump.
to develop to completeness or perfection.
to take a circular course; make a circuit, as a guard.
to make a turn or partial circuit around something.
to turn around as on an axis:
to round on one’s heels.
to reduce successively the number of digits to the right of the decimal point of a mixed number by dropping the final digit and adding 1 to the next preceding digit if the dropped digit was 5 or greater, or leaving the preceding digit unchanged if the dropped digit was 4 or less.
verb phrases
round off,

to complete or perfect; finish.
to express as a round number, usually to the nearest multiple of 10.

round out,

to complete or perfect:
the new coin rounded out his collection.
to fill out; become rounder:
she rounded out so nicely that everyone soon forgot she had been so ill.

round to, nautical. to turn a sailing vessel in the direction from which the wind is blowing.
round up,

to drive or bring (cattle, sheep, etc.) together.
to -ssemble; gather:
to round up all the suspects in an investigation.

idioms
in the round,

(of a theater) having a stage completely surrounded by seats for the audience.
in the style of theater-in-the-round:
the play should be done in the round.
in complete detail; from all aspects:
a character as seen in the round.
(of sculpture) not attached to a supporting background; freestanding.

make the rounds,

to go from one place to another, as in making deliveries, paying social visits, or seeking employment.
also, go the rounds. to be reported or told; circulate:
another rumor making the rounds.

related forms
roundness, noun
synonyms
antonyms
round
/raʊnd/
adjective
having a flat circular shape, as a disc or hoop
having the shape of a sphere or ball
curved; not angular
involving or using circular motion
(prenominal) complete; entire a round dozen
(maths)

forming or expressed by an integer or whole number, with no fraction
expressed to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousand in round figures

(of a sum of money) considerable; ample
fully depicted or developed, as a character in a book
full and plump round cheeks
(of sound) full and sonorous
(of pace) brisk; lively
(prenominal) (of speech) candid; straightforward; unmodified a round -ssertion
(of a vowel) pr-nounced with rounded lips
noun
a round shape or object
in the round

in full detail
(theatre) with the audience all round the stage

a session, as of a negotiation a round of talks
a series, cycle, or sequence a giddy round of parties
the daily round, the usual activities of one’s day
a stage of a compet-tion he was eliminated in the first round
(often pl) a series of calls, esp in a set order a doctor’s rounds, a milkman’s round
a playing of all the holes on a golf course
a single turn of play by each player, as in a card game
one of a number of periods const-tuting a boxing, wrestling, or other match, each usually lasting three minutes
(archery) a specified number of arrows shot from a specified distance
a single discharge by a number of guns or a single gun
a bullet, blank cartridge, or other charge of ammunition
a number of drinks bought at one time for a group of people
a single slice of bread or toast or two slices making a single serving of sandwiches
a general outburst of applause, cheering, etc
movement in a circle or around an axis
(music) a part song in which the voices follow each other at equal intervals at the same pitch
a sequence of bells rung in order of treble to tenor compare change (sense 29)
a dance in which the dancers move in a circle
a cut of beef from the thigh between the rump and the shank
go the rounds, make the rounds

to go from place to place, as in making deliveries or social calls
(of information, rumour, etc) to be p-ssed around, so as to be generally known

preposition
surrounding, encircling, or enclosing a band round her head
on all or most sides of to look round one
on or outside the circ-mference or perimeter of the stands round the racecourse
situated at various points in a lot of shelves round the house
from place to place in driving round ireland
somewhere in or near to stay round the house
making a circuit or partial circuit about the ring road round the town
reached by making a partial circuit about something the shop round the corner
revolving round a centre or axis the earth’s motion round its axis
so as to have a basis in the story is built round a good plot
adverb
on all or most sides the garden is fenced all round, the crowd gathered round
on or outside the circ-mference or perimeter the racing track is two miles round
in all directions from a point of reference he owns the land for ten miles round
to all members of a group p-ss the food round
in rotation or revolution the wheels turn round
by a circuitous route the road to the farm goes round by the pond
to a specific place she came round to see me
all year round, throughout the year; in every month
verb
to make or become round
(transitive) to encircle; surround
to move or cause to move with circular motion to round a bend
(transitive)

to pr-nounce (a speech sound) with rounded lips
to purse (the lips)

see also round down, round off, round on, round out, round up
derived forms
roundness, noun
around
word origin
c13: from old french ront, from latin rotundus round, from rota a wheel
round
c.1290, from anglo-fr. rounde, o.fr. roont, probably originally -redond, from v.l. -retundus (cf. prov. redon, sp. redondo, o.it. ritondo), from l. rotundus “like a wheel, circular, round,” related to rota “wheel” (see rotary). the o.fr. word is the source of m.du. ront (du. rond), m.h.g. runt (ger. rund) and similar gmc. words. in many uses it is an aphetic form of around. first record of round trip is from 1860. round number is 1646, from earlier sense of “full, complete” (1340, sense of symmetry extended to that of completeness); roundhouse (1589) is from du. rondhuis “guardhouse.” king arthur’s round table is attested from c.1300, from o.fr. table ronde (1155, in wace’s roman de brut). roundhead “adherent of parliamentary party in the english civil war” (1641) is from their custom of wearing the hair close-cropped, in contrast to the flowing curls of the cavaliers. round heels attested from 1926, in ref. to incompetent boxers, 1927 in ref. to loose women, in either case implying an inability to avoid ending up flat on one’s back.
round
early 14c., “a spherical body,” from round (adj.) (cf. du. rond, dan., swed. rund, ger. runde, all n. from adj.). meaning “large round piece of beef” is recorded from 1650s. theatrical sense (in phrase in the round) is recorded from 1944. sense of “circuit performed by a sentinel” is from 1598; that of “recurring course of time” is from 1710. meaning “song sung by two or more, beginning at different times” is from 1520s. golfing sense attested from 1775. meaning “quant-ty of liquor served to a company at one time” is from 1630s; that of “single bout in a fight or boxing match” is from 1812; “single discharge of a firearm” is from 1725. sense of “recurring session of meetings or negotiations” is from 1964.
round
late 14c., “to make round,” from round (adj.). meaning “to approximate a number” is from 1934. round up “to collect in a m-ss” is from 1615; specifically of livestock from 1847; round-up (n.) “cattle drive” is from 1873;

round definition

a song that can be begun at different times by different singers, but with harmonious singing (see harmony) as the result. “row, row, row your boat” is a round.