roundhouse

American  

[round-hous] / ˈraʊndˌhaʊs /

noun

roundhouses plural

1. a building for the servicing and repair of locomotives, built around a turntable in the form of some part of a circle.

2. Nautical. a cabin on the after part of a quarterdeck.

3. Slang. a punch in which the arm is typically brought straight out to the side or rear of the body and in which the fist describes an exaggerated circular motion.

4. Also called round trip.  Pinochle. a meld of one king and queen of each suit.

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roundhouse British  

/ ˈraʊndˌhaʊs /

noun

1. a circular building in which railway locomotives are serviced or housed, radial tracks being fed by a central turntable

2. slang boxing

   1. a swinging punch or style of punching

   2. ( as modifier )

      a roundhouse style

3. pinochle a meld of all four kings and queens

4. an obsolete word for jail

5. obsolete a cabin on the quarterdeck of a sailing ship

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• roundhouses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of roundhouse

First recorded in 1580–90; round ¹ + house

Example Sentences

He left the Air Force in 1962 and set up a martial arts studio in Los Angeles, finding his calling in teaching and delivering roundhouse kicks.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

Each roundhouse roof had three layers: insulating straw topped by turf and completed with clay -- making them warm and waterproof but still well ventilated.

From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2024

In the third quarter, he picked off a Washington pass and went in for an uncontested roundhouse dunk.

From Washington Times • Nov. 1, 2023

Nellie Wilson works part-time weaving together hazel branches to build the walls and roof of a replica Iron Age roundhouse.

From BBC • Aug. 18, 2023

When you arrived, he wasn’t there, so you practiced: side punch, knife hand block, roundhouse kick.

From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander

Related Words

• bat
• blow
• punch
• shot
• swing