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, tortuous, rambling, rambling

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

---

noun

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

---

adjective

1. indirect or circuitous; devious

adverb

1. on all sides

   spectators standing round about

2. approximately

   at round about 5 o'clock

Etymology

Origin of roundabout

1525–35; round ¹ (adv.) + about

Example Sentences

Some opera singers hoped that the actor’s jibes might actually prove beneficial for the form in a roundabout way.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

The main house featured an elaborate sculpture of a stallion trampling a dragon in the roundabout out front.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026

Italian Jonathan Milan was expected to be in the frame for the stage win but crashed heavily at a roundabout 1,500m from the end.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

It was said he drove his car to a roundabout near the Orwell Hotel, turned around and drove past her next hiding place "at least another three times back and forth".

From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026

But in the roundabout way in which God often works, I did find myself back there . . . some forty years after Mama Lessie’s death and thirty years after Grandaddy had died there.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry