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.
(adverb) to move about
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?
Also, go round . Satisfy a demand or need, as in Is there enough food to go around? [Mid-1800s]
Same as go about , def. 1.
go around with . Same as go with , def. 1.
. Engage in excited but useless activity. For example, Bill ran around in circles trying organize us but to no avail . This idiom was first recorded in 1933. For what goes around comes around , see under full circle .
First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase go around
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Following back-to-back seasons of directing his own productions, Desai is taking a breather this go-around to focus on broader administrative duties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2026
Pilots on the Mesa Airlines flight decided that the separation between their craft and the one taking off was insufficient and initiated a go-around, where a landing is aborted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
Captain Heard took the controls and performed a "go-around" where the plane climbs higher, does a big circle and tries again.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2025
His aircraft quickly aborted the landing, climbed back into the sky and began circling the airport to try again - a flight manoeuvre called a sudden go-around.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2025
I wanted to get away from Daisy as soon as I could, but I lost a good thirty minutes having another go-around with Rowdy.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
You’d think looking that way I would attract women, but maybe women are better at taking care of themselves and don’t go around broadcasting their need for company.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Investors are getting more fretful about whether there will be enough power demand to go around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Chip stocks have had plenty of juice for their gains, but there’s only so much juice to go around.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
"It's going to go around the world, we're going to take it around the world, but it has to be in Birmingham first."
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
“Yeah, Mom. You can’t go around hugging people all the time,” Tadeo says, and Celia laughs.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
