round

1 of 6

adjective

ˈrau̇nd 

1

a(1)

: having every part of the surface or circumference equidistant from the center

(2)

: cylindrical

a round peg

b

: approximately round

a round face

2

: well filled out : plump, shapely

3

a

: complete, full

a round dozen

a round ton

b

: approximately correct

especially : exact only to a specific decimal or place

use the round number 1400 for the exact figure 1411

c

: substantial in amount : ample

a good round price

—T. B. Costain

4

: direct in utterance : outspoken

a round denunciation

5

: moving in or forming a circle

6

a

: brought to completion or perfection : finished

b

: presented with lifelike fullness or vividness

7

: delivered with a swing of the arm

a round blow

8

a

: having full or unimpeded resonance or tone : sonorous

b

: pronounced with rounded lips : labialized

9

: of or relating to handwriting predominantly curved rather than angular

roundness

ˈrau̇n(d)-nəs 

noun

round

2 of 6

adverb

: around

round

3 of 6

noun

1

a

: something (such as a circle, globe, or ring) that is round

b(1)

: a knot of people

(2)

: a circle of things

2

: round dance sense 1

3

: a musical canon in which each part begins on the same note and is continuously repeated

4

a

: a rung of a ladder or a chair

b

: a rounded molding

5

a

: a circling or circuitous path or course

b

: motion in a circle or a curving path

6

a

: a route or circuit habitually covered (as by a security guard or police officer)

b

: a series of similar or customary calls or stops

They were always together, fighting to cure paralysis. An endless round of fundraisers, Congressional testimony.

—Diane Sawyer

—often used in plural

You see, in election time local politicians, aspirants for office, have a way of making the rounds of the saloons to get votes.

—Jack London

… no one … was surprised to see him making the TV news rounds within hours of his announced termination …

—Kristi Owram

especially : a series of regularly scheduled professional calls on hospital patients made by a doctor or nurse

—usually used in plural

… if laboratory test results are not available to physicians when they make their routine morning rounds, they may have to delay patient management, repeat their rounds at a later time, and perhaps prolong their patients' hospital stays.

—David A. Novis and Jane C. Dale

7

: a drink of liquor apiece served at one time to each person in a group

I'll buy the next round

8

: a sequence of recurring routine or repetitive actions or events

went about my round of chores

the newest round of talks

9

: a period of time that recurs in a fixed pattern

the daily round

10

a

: one shot fired by a weapon or by each man in a military unit

b

: a unit of ammunition consisting of the parts necessary to fire one shot

11

a

: a unit of action in a contest or game which comprises a stated period, covers a prescribed distance, includes a specified number of plays, or gives each player one turn

b

: a division of a tournament in which each contestant plays an opponent

12

: a prolonged burst (as of applause)

13

a

: a cut of meat (such as beef) especially between the rump and the lower leg see beef illustration

b

: a slice of food

a round of bread

14

: a rounded or curved part

round

4 of 6

verb (1)

rounded; rounding; rounds

transitive verb

1

a

: to make round

b(1)

: to make (the lips) round and protruded (as in the pronunciation of \ü\)

(2)

: to pronounce with lip rounding : labialize

2

a

: go around

b

: to pass part of the way around

3

: encircle, encompass

4

: to bring to completion or perfection

—often used with off or out

5

: to express as a round number

—often used with off

11.3572 rounded off to two decimal places becomes 11.36

intransitive verb

1

a

: to become round, plump, or shapely

b

: to reach fullness or completion

2

: to follow a winding course : bend

round

5 of 6

preposition

1

: around

2

: all during : throughout

round the year

round

6 of 6

verb (2)

rounded; rounding; rounds

transitive verb

1

archaic : whisper

2

archaic : to speak to in a whisper

Phrases

in the round

1

: in full sculptured form unattached to a background

2

: with an inclusive or comprehensive view or representation

3

: with a center stage surrounded by an audience

a play presented in the round

round on

: to turn against : assail

Synonyms

Adjective

• global
• globular
• spherical

Adverb

• around
• over
• through
• throughout

Noun

• band
• circle
• eye
• hoop
• loop
• ring

Verb (1)

• agglomerate
• ball
• roll
• wad

Preposition

• about
• across
• around
• over
• through
• throughout

Examples of round in a Sentence

Adjective

The baby has a round face.

the owl's big, round eyes

a shirt with a round collar

Adverb

people working there all year round

gather round and listen to my story

Noun

a round of steel to reinforce the wooden beam

a busy round of parties during the holiday season

Verb (1)

carefully rounded the dough and placed it on a cookie tray

a monorail for visitors that rounds the park

rounded on the track and headed for the finish line

Preposition

talked to voters round the city

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The central part of the building exhibited Romanesque Revival elements, including round arched nave windows set in round arched panels. —Cheryl V. Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 24 Dec. 2024

Pipe batter onto baking sheets (about 9 cookies per sheet) in round rosettes or swirls (2 to 2½ inches wide and ½ inch tall), leaving about ½ inch ofspace between cookies. —Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 23 Dec. 2024

Adverb

Stewart Mandel wraps up round one in his Final Thoughts. —Jayna Bardahl, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024

There were heaping bowls of something called Krazy Krunch (think nutty caramel corn, with a hefty glug of corn syrup) and homemade hard candies, spread out like a feast in front of a Christmas tree so intricately decorated it was left up year round. —Megan Thielking, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2024

Noun

Charbonnet was selected in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, just one season after Seattle selected Walker in the very same round. —Theo Gremminger, The Athletic, 14 Dec. 2024

Newsweek will be back with another round of hints and tips for each new game. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 14 Dec. 2024

Verb

Newcomers to the franchise Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Manny Jacinto and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan round out the cast. —Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2024

Last week’s 92nd-minute winner by Ollie Rathbone against Barnsley rounded off a year that has led to many new friendships being forged in north Wales. —Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 13 Dec. 2024

Preposition

When YouTuber Anthony Po organized the Wonka-star look-alike contest heard round the world in October, he was slapped with a ticket that was far from golden. —Michael Savio, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024

The screen is massive, measuring almost 15 inches, and the snappy screens and best-in-class performance round everything out. —Louryn Strampe, WIRED, 9 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English round, rounde "spherical, circular, rounded," borrowed from Anglo-French reund, rund, rount, going back to Vulgar Latin *retundus, altered (by presumed vowel dissimilation) from Latin rotundus — more at rotund

Adverb

Middle English, "in a circle," derivative of round, rounde round entry 1

Noun

Middle English rond, round, rounde "spherical body or form, circle," in part derivative of round, rounde round entry 1, in part borrowed from Anglo-French rund, rond (in en rund "round about") and runde (in a la runde "round about"), both nominal derivatives of reund, rund round entry 1

Verb (1)

Middle English rounden "to form a ball, be circular, cut (hair) close around the head," in part derivative of round round entry 1, in part borrowed from Anglo-French runder "to revolve" and Old French rondir "to make round," derivatives of rund, rond round entry 1

Preposition

derivative of round entry 2

Verb (2)

alteration of Middle English rounen, from Old English rūnian; akin to Old English rūn mystery — more at rune

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Preposition

1573, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing round

• a clip round the ear
• all-round
• (all) round the year
• all year round
• a square peg in a round hole
• bottom round
• change round
• come round
• crowd around/round
• enough/plenty to go round
• get one's head round
• get round
• get round to (something)
• go-round
• in the round
• look round
• merry-go-round
• paper round
• pull round
• rally round
• round angle
• round clam
• round dance
• round lot
• round number
• round of applause
• round on
• round-robin
• round-shouldered
• round steak
• round table
• round the bend
• round the clock
• round the twist
• round trip
• round-trip ticket
• round up
• round window
• run about/round with
• see around/round
• show (someone) round
• sniff around/round
• steamship round
• talk round
• theater-in-the-round
• the other way round
• top round
• turn round
• turn round and (do something)
• what goes round comes round
• whip-round
• work round
• work round to
• year-round

Kids Definition

round

1 of 5 adjective

ˈrau̇nd 

1

a

: having every part of the surface or circumference the same distance from the center

b

: shaped like a cylinder

a round peg

c

: nearly round

a round face

2

: plump entry 5

3

a

: complete entry 1 sense 1

a round dozen

b

: nearly correct or exact to a certain decimal place

use the round number 1400 for the exact figure 1411

c

: large

a good round sum

4

: moving in or forming a circle

5

: having lifelike fullness

a round character in a story

6

: having fullness of tone

7

: having curves rather than angles

roundish

ˈrau̇n-dish

adjective

roundness

ˈrau̇n(d)-nəs 

noun

round

2 of 5 adverb

: around entry 1

round

3 of 5 noun

1

: something (as a circle, globe, or ring) that is round

2

: a song in which three or four singers sing the same melody and words one after another at intervals

3

: rung entry 2

4

: an indirect or circling path

5

a

: a regularly covered route

a watchman's rounds

b

: a series of calls or stops regularly made

a doctor's hospital rounds

6

: a drink apiece served at one time to each person in a group

7

: a series or cycle of repeated actions or events

opened a new round of peace talks

8

a

: one shot fired by a soldier or weapon

b

: ammunition for one shot

9

: a unit of play in a contest or game

a round of golf

10

: a cut of beef especially between the rump and the lower leg

round

4 of 5 verb

1

a

: to make or become round

b

: to pronounce a sound with rounding of the lips

2

: to go or pass around

rounded the curve

3

: to bring to completion

—often used with off or out

4

: to express as a round number

especially : to drop any digits to the right of a given decimal place and increase the last remaining digit by 1 if the first dropped digit is 5 or greater

4.57268 rounded off to three decimal places is 4.573

5

: to follow a winding course

round

5 of 5 preposition

(ˈ)rau̇nd

: around entry 2

Medical Definition

round

intransitive verb

ˈrau̇nd 

: to go on rounds