roundabout

1 of 2

adjective

round·​about ˈrau̇n-də-ˌbau̇t 

: circuitous, indirect

had to take a roundabout route

roundaboutness noun

roundabout

2 of 2

noun

1

: a circuitous route : detour

2

British : merry-go-round

3

: a short close-fitting jacket worn by men and boys especially in the 19th century

4

: rotary sense 2

Synonyms

Adjective

• circuitous
• circular
• indirect

Examples of roundabout in a Sentence

Adjective

He took a roundabout route to town.

In a roundabout way, he told me that my help was not wanted.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Put another way, Coyle is building on her 2014 acknowledgement that GDP has lacking qualities, as do economic statistics broadly in her view, all of which is a heavy throat-clearing, roundabout way of getting back to the anecdote that begins this review. —John Tamny, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025

There’s always a connection to me as a performer live onstage, but there are also dramaturgical decisions made to have something between us, to be sometimes inaccessible or roundabout. —Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025

Noun

Set right on the roundabout itself, the eponymous hotel assumes a place of pride. —Laura Dannen Redman, AFAR Media, 14 Apr. 2025

That would be slightly better than in Milan: the only thing that carries his name is, bizarrely, a roundabout. —Nick Miller, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1608, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1734, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roundabout

• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout

Kids Definition

roundabout

adjective

round·​about

ˈrau̇n-də-ˌbau̇t

: not direct

went a roundabout way