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

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

At one roundabout, 25-year-old Kasim Ramadan gathered with four or five friends, determined not to be intimidated.

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

Instead, the no-audits pledge followed a roundabout path.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026

Next to a roundabout, a field had become a makeshift cemetery for fighters.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

Their host served as guide, and he led them by a long roundabout road.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry