go-around

[ goh-uh-round ]

noun

an act or instance of going around something, as a circle, course, or traffic pattern, and returning to the starting point.
a series or pattern of occurrences; round: After the third go-around of questions, the witness was released.

runaround (def. 1).

Origin of go-around

First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase go around

Also go-round [goh-round] /ˈgoʊˌraʊnd/ (for defs. 2, 3).

Words Nearby go-around

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use go-around in a sentence

And yet, could Alison Grimes go around the state bragging about this?
Inside the Democrats’ Godawful Midterm Election Wipeout | Michael Tomasky | November 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They have conventions for dance, and these kids go around the country as the winner.
Nigel Lythgoe on How to Save Reality TV, ‘On the Town,’ and ‘Brokeback Ballroom’ | Kevin Fallon | October 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Beyond lucking into a scholarship, of which there are only ever so many to go around, that means loans.
Did Needs-Blind Admission Create the College Debt Crisis? | John McWhorter | July 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
You can go around all day and not hear anybody even mention Afghanistan.
It Wasn’t Just Bergdahl. On Afghanistan, All of America Is AWOL. | Michael Daly | June 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
This is likely to be Dewhurst's second go-around losing a GOP primary in the past two years.
The Strange Texas Political Ad That Parodies Frozen | Ben Jacobs | May 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

I can't go around docks without a boat, and I hain't got none.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | Various
You can't go around asking for a job and saying, "But I was making money for them."
Nine Men in Time | Noel Miller Loomis
Now and then they would come close together; their trunks would strike each other, then they would separate and go around again.
Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
She said all a body would have to do there was to go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
You see, the house is largely furnished from my two rooms at college, and there was hardly enough to go around.
The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for go around

go around

verb(intr)

(adverb) to move about
(adverb foll by with) to frequent the society (of a person or group of people): she went around with older men

(adverb) to be sufficient: are there enough sweets to go round?
to circulate (in): measles is going round the school
(preposition) to be actively and constantly engaged in (doing something): she went around caring for the sick
to be long enough to encircle: will that belt go round you?

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with go-around

go-around

Also, go round. Satisfy a demand or need, as in Is there enough food to go around? [Mid-1800s]

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