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definitions

round

1
[round]
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adjective, round·er, round·est.
  1. having a flat, circular surface, as a disk.
  2. ring-shaped, as a hoop.
  3. curved like part of a circle, as an outline.
  4. having a circular cross section, as a cylinder; cylindrical.
  5. spherical or globular, as a ball.
  6. shaped more or less like a part of a sphere; hemispherical.
  7. free from angularity; consisting of full, curved lines or shapes, as handwriting or parts of the body.
  8. executed with or involving circular motion.
  9. full, complete, or entire: a round dozen.
  10. noting, formed, or expressed by an integer or whole number with no fraction.
  11. expressed, given, or exact to the nearest multiple or power of ten; in tens, hundreds, thousands, or the like: in round numbers.
  12. roughly correct; approximate: a round guess.
  13. considerable in amount; ample: a round sum of money.
  14. brought to completeness or perfection.
  15. full and sonorous, as sound.
  16. vigorous or brisk: a round trot.
  17. straightforward, plain, or candid; outspoken: a round scolding.
  18. positive or unqualified: a round assertion.
noun
  1. any round shape, as a circle, ring or sphere.
  2. a circular, ring-shaped, curved, or spherical object; a rounded form.
  3. something circular in cross section, as a rung of a ladder or chair.
  4. Sometimes rounds. a completed course of time, series of events or operations, etc., ending at a point corresponding to that at the beginning: We waited through the round of many years.
  5. any complete course, series, or succession: The strike was settled after a long round of talks; a round of parties.
  6. Often rounds. a going around from place to place, as in a habitual or definite circuit: a doctor's rounds.
  7. a completed course or spell of activity, commonly one of a series, in some play or sport: the second round of a tournament.
  8. a recurring period of time, succession of events, duties, etc.: the daily round.
  9. an entire range: the round of human capabilities.
  10. a single outburst, as of applause or cheers.
  11. a single discharge of shot by each of a number of guns, rifles, etc.
  12. a single discharge by one firearm.
  13. a charge of ammunition for a single shot.
  14. a single serving, especially of drink, made more or less simultaneously to everyone present, as at table or at a bar: The next round is on me.
  15. round dance.
  16. movement in a circle or around an axis.
  17. Cookery.
    1. Also round of beef.the portion of the thigh of beef below the rump and above the leg.
    2. Informal.round steak.
  18. a slice, as of bread.
  19. Archery. a specified number of arrows shot from a specified distance from the target in accordance with the rules.
  20. one of a series of three-minute periods making up a boxing match: a 15-round bout.
  21. Music.
    1. a short, rhythmical canon at the unison, in which the several voices enter at equally spaced intervals of time.
    2. rounds,the order followed in ringing a peal of bells in diatonic sequence from the highest to the lowest.
  22. Golf. a playing of the complete course.
  23. Cards. a division of play in a game, consisting of a turn each for every player to bid, bet, play a card, deal the cards, or be dealt cards.
adverb
  1. throughout or from the beginning to the end of a recurring period of time: all year round.
  2. Also 'round. around: The music goes round and round.
preposition
  1. throughout (a period of time): a resort visited all round the year.
  2. around: It happened round noon.
verb (used with object)
  1. to make round.
  2. to free from angularity; fill out symmetrically; make plump.
  3. to bring to completeness or perfection; finish.
  4. Jewelry. to form (a gem) roughly (sometimes followed by up); girdle.
  5. to end (a sentence, paragraph, etc.) with something specified: He rounded his speech with a particularly apt quotation.
  6. to encircle or surround.
  7. to make a complete circuit of; pass completely around.
  8. to make a turn or partial circuit around or to the other side of: to round a corner.
  9. to cause to move in a circle; turn around.
  10. Phonetics.
    1. to make the opening at (the lips) relatively round or pursed during an utterance.
    2. to pronounce (a speech sound, especially a vowel) with rounded lips; labialize.
    3. to contract (the lips) laterally.Compare spread(def 14b), unround.
  11. Mathematics. to replace by the nearest multiple of 10, with 5 being increased to the next highest multiple: 15,837 can be rounded to 15,840; then to 15,800; then to 16,000.
verb (used without object)
  1. to become round.
  2. to become free from angularity; become plump.
  3. to develop to completeness or perfection.
  4. to take a circular course; make a circuit, as a guard.
  5. to make a turn or partial circuit around something.
  6. to turn around as on an axis: to round on one's heels.
  7. to reduce successively the number of digits to the right of the decimal point of a mixed number by dropping the final digit and adding 1 to the next preceding digit if the dropped digit was 5 or greater, or leaving the preceding digit unchanged if the dropped digit was 4 or less.
Verb Phrases
  1. round off,
    1. to complete or perfect; finish.
    2. to express as a round number, usually to the nearest multiple of 10.
  2. round out,
    1. to complete or perfect: The new coin rounded out his collection.
    2. to fill out; become rounder: She rounded out so nicely that everyone soon forgot she had been so ill.
  3. round to, Nautical. to turn a sailing vessel in the direction from which the wind is blowing.
  4. round up,
    1. to drive or bring (cattle, sheep, etc.) together.
    2. to assemble; gather: to round up all the suspects in an investigation.
Idioms
  1. in the round,
    1. (of a theater) having a stage completely surrounded by seats for the audience.
    2. in the style of theater-in-the-round: The play should be done in the round.
    3. in complete detail; from all aspects: a character as seen in the round.
    4. (of sculpture) not attached to a supporting background; freestanding.
  2. make the rounds,
    1. to go from one place to another, as in making deliveries, paying social visits, or seeking employment.
    2. Also go the rounds.to be reported or told; circulate: another rumor making the rounds.

Origin of round

1
1250–1300; (adj.) Middle English rond, round < Old French, stem of ront, earlier reont < Latin rotundus round, circular (see rotund); (noun) Middle English, partly derivative of the adj., partly < Old French rond, ronde (derivative of ront); (v.) Middle English, derivative of the adj.; (adv. and preposition) Middle English, apparently aphetic variant of around
Related formsround·ness, noun

Synonyms for round

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9. whole, unbroken. 20. cylinder. 22. cycle, revolution, period.

Antonyms for round

1. angular.

round

2
[round]
verb (used with or without object) Archaic.
  1. to whisper.

Origin of round

2
before 1000; Middle English rounen, Old English rūnian, derivative of rūn a secret, rune1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for round

spherical, rounded, cylindrical, elliptical, oval, curved, bulbous, finished, large, fleshy, plump, schedule, series, period, course, tour, session, performance, bout, lap

Examples from the Web for round

Contemporary Examples of round

Historical Examples of round

British Dictionary definitions for round

round

adjective
  1. having a flat circular shape, as a disc or hoop
  2. having the shape of a sphere or ball
  3. curved; not angular
  4. involving or using circular motion
  5. (prenominal) complete; entirea round dozen
  6. maths
    1. forming or expressed by an integer or whole number, with no fraction
    2. expressed to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousandin round figures
  7. (of a sum of money) considerable; ample
  8. fully depicted or developed, as a character in a book
  9. full and plumpround cheeks
  10. (of sound) full and sonorous
  11. (of pace) brisk; lively
  12. (prenominal) (of speech) candid; straightforward; unmodifieda round assertion
  13. (of a vowel) pronounced with rounded lips
noun
  1. a round shape or object
  2. in the round
    1. in full detail
    2. theatrewith the audience all round the stage
  3. a session, as of a negotiationa round of talks
  4. a series, cycle, or sequencea giddy round of parties
  5. the daily round the usual activities of one's day
  6. a stage of a competitionhe was eliminated in the first round
  7. (often plural) a series of calls, esp in a set ordera doctor's rounds; a milkman's round
  8. a playing of all the holes on a golf course
  9. a single turn of play by each player, as in a card game
  10. one of a number of periods constituting a boxing, wrestling, or other match, each usually lasting three minutes
  11. archery a specified number of arrows shot from a specified distance
  12. a single discharge by a number of guns or a single gun
  13. a bullet, blank cartridge, or other charge of ammunition
  14. a number of drinks bought at one time for a group of people
  15. a single slice of bread or toast or two slices making a single serving of sandwiches
  16. a general outburst of applause, cheering, etc
  17. movement in a circle or around an axis
  18. music a part song in which the voices follow each other at equal intervals at the same pitch
  19. a sequence of bells rung in order of treble to tenorCompare change (def. 29)
  20. a dance in which the dancers move in a circle
  21. a cut of beef from the thigh between the rump and the shank
  22. go the rounds or make the rounds
    1. to go from place to place, as in making deliveries or social calls
    2. (of information, rumour, etc) to be passed around, so as to be generally known
preposition
  1. surrounding, encircling, or enclosinga band round her head
  2. on all or most sides ofto look round one
  3. on or outside the circumference or perimeter ofthe stands round the racecourse
  4. situated at various points ina lot of shelves round the house
  5. from place to place indriving round Ireland
  6. somewhere in or nearto stay round the house
  7. making a circuit or partial circuit aboutthe ring road round the town
  8. reached by making a partial circuit about somethingthe shop round the corner
  9. revolving round a centre or axisthe earth's motion round its axis
  10. so as to have a basis inthe story is built round a good plot
adverb
  1. on all or most sidesthe garden is fenced all round; the crowd gathered round
  2. on or outside the circumference or perimeterthe racing track is two miles round
  3. in all directions from a point of referencehe owns the land for ten miles round
  4. to all members of a grouppass the food round
  5. in rotation or revolutionthe wheels turn round
  6. by a circuitous routethe road to the farm goes round by the pond
  7. to a specific placeshe came round to see me
  8. all year round throughout the year; in every month
verb
  1. to make or become round
  2. (tr) to encircle; surround
  3. to move or cause to move with circular motionto round a bend
  4. (tr)
    1. to pronounce (a speech sound) with rounded lips
    2. to purse (the lips)
See also round down, round off, round on, round out, round up
Derived Formsroundness, noun

Word Origin for round

C13: from Old French ront, from Latin rotundus round, from rota a wheel

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See around
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
Word Origin and History for round
adj.

late 13c., from Anglo-French rounde, Old French roont (12c., Modern French rond), probably originally *redond, from Vulgar Latin *retundus (cf. Provençal redon, Spanish redondo, Old Italian ritondo), from Latin rotundus "like a wheel, circular, round," related to rota "wheel" (see rotary).

As an adverb from c.1300; as a preposition from c.1600. In many uses it is a shortened form of around. The French word is the source of Middle Dutch ront (Dutch rond), Middle High German runt (German rund) and similar Germanic words.

Of numbers from mid-14c., from earlier sense "full, complete, brought to completion" (mid-14c., notion of symmetry extended to that of completeness). First record of round trip is from 1844, originally of railways. Round heels attested from 1926, in reference to incompetent boxers, 1927 in reference to loose women, in either case implying an inability to avoid ending up flat on one's back.

n.

early 14c., "a spherical body," from round (adj.) and Old French roond. Cf. Dutch rond, Danish and Swedish rund, German runde, all nouns from adjectives. Meaning "large round piece of beef" is recorded from 1650s. Theatrical sense (in phrase in the round) is recorded from 1944. Sense of "circuit performed by a sentinel" is from 1590s; that of "recurring course of time" is from 1710. Meaning "song sung by two or more, beginning at different times" is from 1520s. Golfing sense attested from 1775. Meaning "quantity of liquor served to a company at one time" is from 1630s; that of "single bout in a fight or boxing match" is from 1812; "single discharge of a firearm" is from 1725. Sense of "recurring session of meetings or negotiations" is from 1964.

v.

late 14c., "to make round," from round (adj.). Sense of "make a circuit round" is from 1590s. Sense of "bring to completeness" is from c.1600; meaning "to approximate (a number)" is from 1934. Meaning "turn round and face, turn on and assault" is from 1882. Round out "fill up" is from 1856. Related: Rounded; rounding.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
round in Culture

round

A song that can be begun at different times by different singers, but with harmonious singing (see harmony) as the result. “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” is a round.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with round

round

In addition to the idioms beginning with round

  • round and round
  • round figures
  • round off
  • round on
  • round out
  • round peg in a square hole
  • round robin
  • round the bend
  • round trip
  • round up

also see:

  • all year round
  • bring around (round)
  • come around (round)
  • get around (round)
  • in round numbers
  • in the round
  • make the rounds
  • other way round
  • pull round
  • rally around

Also see underaround.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.