round-robin

noun

round-rob·​in ˈrau̇nd-ˌrä-bən 

1

a

: a written petition, memorial, or protest to which the signatures are affixed in a circle so as not to indicate who signed first

b

: a statement signed by several persons

c

: something (such as a letter) sent in turn to the members of a group each of whom signs and forwards it sometimes after adding comment

2

: roundtable sense 1

3

: a tournament in which every contestant meets every other contestant in turn

4

: series, round

Synonyms

• colloquy
• conference
• council
• forum
• panel
• panel discussion
• parley
• roundtable
• seminar
• symposium

Examples of round-robin in a Sentence

a round-robin to discuss the epidemic of performance-enhancing drugs plaguing professional sports

Recent Examples on the Web

After Canada opened up a comfortable 4-0 lead in the teams’ round-robin finale, Granlund scored twice in just 23 seconds to get the score to 4-3 with 1:17 left to play in regulation. —Carol Schram, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025

Canadian fans booed the American national anthem when the teams met in a round-robin match in Montreal, which was followed by three fights in the first nine seconds of the game. —Dan Robson, The Athletic, 22 Feb. 2025

The game capped off a round-robin tournament called the 4 Nations Face-Off between Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. —Vjosa Isai, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025

Both teams will play the other two teams in the bracket, No. 1 Riordan and No. 8 Mitty, in a round-robin format. —Christian Babcock, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from the name Robin

First Known Use

1698, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for round-robin

• globin
• haemoglobin
• hemoglobin
• myoglobin

Kids Definition

round-robin

noun

ˈrau̇n-ˌdräb-ən

1

: a letter (as of protest) whose signers put their signatures in a circle so the receiver cannot tell who signed first

2

: a tournament in which every contestant plays once against every other contestant