rotunda
Americannoun
-
a round building, especially one with a dome.
-
a large and high circular hall or room in a building, especially one surmounted by a dome.
noun
Etymology
Origin of rotunda
1680–90; alteration of Italian rotonda, noun use of feminine of rotondo < Latin rotundus rotund
Explanation
When making the plans for your new house, consider adding a rotunda, or a round room. It will give the house a grand appearance and also allow you to walk in circles as much as you please. You may have heard the adjective rotund to describe a person with a round shape. Rotunda, with an -a at the end, is a noun that refers to a type of building or room that is round and often has a dome on top. Rotundas are often found as part of large, important buildings such as capitol buildings and museums.
Vocabulary lists containing rotunda
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While robots in the rotunda were programmed to dance, other robots at the event were teleoperated by engineers who wore body suits and virtual-reality headsets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 3, 2026
Built in 1939 as the Floral Hall, the Ocean Room is a distinctive rotunda building, and for the past 50 years has operated as a night club and function venue.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2025
The Bidens traveled to a private home in Santa Ynez after attending the inauguration of President Trump in the packed rotunda of the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2025
It was the coldest inauguration day in 45 years, meaning that the planned outdoor ceremony had to be scrapped and moved inside of the Capitol’s rotunda, which holds considerably fewer people.
From Salon • Jan. 21, 2025
They walked along the outer edge of the rotunda, passing the archways where scythes wheeled and dealed.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
