roundabout

American  

[round-uh-bout, round-uh-bout, round-uh-bout] / ˌraʊnd əˈbaʊt, ˈraʊnd əˌbaʊt, ˈraʊnd əˌbaʊt /

adjective

1. circuitous or indirect, as a road, journey, method, statement or person.

   Synonyms:

   tortuous, rambling

2. (of clothing) cut circularly at the bottom; having no tails, train, or the like.

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noun

• roundabouts
  plural

1. a short, close-fitting coat or jacket worn by men or boys, especially in the 19th century.

2. British. a merry-go-round.

3. a circuitous or indirect road, method, etc.

4. Chiefly British. traffic circle.

roundabout British  

/ ˈraʊndəˌbaʊt /

noun

1. a revolving circular platform provided with wooden animals, seats, etc, on which people ride for amusement; merry-go-round

2. US and Canadian name: traffic circle.  a road junction in which traffic streams circulate around a central island

3. an informal name for boring mill

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adjective

1. indirect or circuitous; devious

adverb

1. on all sides

   spectators standing round about

2. approximately

   at round about 5 o'clock

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• roundabouts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of roundabout

1525–35; round ¹ (adv.) + about

Explanation

A roundabout is an intersection that uses a circular junction instead of stoplights or stop signs to manage traffic flow. Instead of every car stopping, they enter the roundabout slowly, and traffic moves almost continuously. In the UK, an amusement park ride that moves in a circle, like a carousel, is also a roundabout, but in North America this noun almost always means what's sometimes called a "traffic circle" or a "rotary." As an adjective, roundabout describes things that aren't straightforward, but are indirect or unclear: "After his roundabout confession, I'm not even sure he realizes what he did wrong."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

roundabout roundabouts

One left turn at a roundabout and the road gave way to wide stretches of beach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Traffic travelling westbound is being diverted onto the A326 towards Ashurst Bridge and then onto the A338 to the Ashley Heath roundabout to rejoin the A31.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

The car crashed deep in undergrowth near a roundabout, and they were not found for 46 hours.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Americans looking for Korean exposure have had to turn to roundabout methods, including buying shares in the Roundhill Memory exchange-traded fund, a concentrated bet on U.S. and Korean memory-chip stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

In my poor parish, most of what we used came from the farms roundabout.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

The A46 project also includes a new flyover at the Cattle Market junction, a new bridge over the A1 and the widening of roundabouts at Farndon and Winthorpe.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

From the airport lounge to roundabouts dotting Benin's economic capital Cotonou, images of his smiling face framed by his round glasses have been prominent for weeks.

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

Today, bicycles and bright yellow three-wheeled "keke" taxis flit along paved streets or new highway flyovers direct traffic over packed roundabouts.

From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025

Inside the centers—often large tents near traffic roundabouts, or rooms inside municipal buildings—there are beds to sleep on and toys for children to play with.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025

Just below me, all around, unsuspected by me, were highways, boulevards, streets and roundabouts bustling with submarine traffic.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel