roundround2 ●●● S1 W2 adjective 
a big round table Jamie’s eyes grew round with delight.2shaped like a ball: small round berries3fat and curved: round chubby cheeks4[only before noun] a round number or figure is a whole number, often ending in 0: Let’s make it a round figure: say £50?in round figures (=expressed as the nearest 10, 100, 1,000 etc) Altogether, in round figures, there are about three thousand students here.a round hundred/dozen etc (=a complete hundred etc) → a square peg in a round hole at square1(12)—roundness noun [uncountable]
WORD ORIGINround2
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French roont, from Latin rotundusEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a short round man
- European watermelons are much rounder than the American variety.
- He wore round glasses with wire rims.
- His bald round head reminded her of Sam.
- His stomach was big and round from drinking too much beer.
- In the kitchen there was a round table with a vase of flowers on it.
- It probably costs more, but $200 is a nice round number.
- She drew a round yellow sun in the center of the picture.
- The moon was perfectly round that night.
- The recipe calls for large round tomatoes.
- Violet stared at him with her huge round eyes.
- His large round eyes probed Miguel that first time, as if he could look inside with ease.
- It's sunglasses all round as our richly-coiffed Tory front benchers try to fight eye-strain caused by their chrome-domed pinko opponents.
- Some women ground corn or wheat on huge round stones.
- The round dining table is dark rosewood with a matching set of chairs.
- The boatmen who brought trade goods up the Missouri as far as the Yellowstone made $ 220 for the round trip.
Longman Language Activatoraround someone or something
also round British completely surrounding or enclosing someone or something: · A group of students sat around the table chatting.· She was wearing a silver chain round her neck.· On the kitchen table was a package with tape wrapped around it.all around/all round: · Enemy soldiers were now all around us.· At the bottom of the hill was a small pond with trees all round.
if something is around you on all sides or on every side , you see it everywhere and you may feel that you are unable to move or escape because of it: · Mountains rose steeply on all sides.from all sides: · There was the sound of gunfire from all sides.
to be surrounded by something if someone or something is surrounded by people or things, those people or things are around them on every side: · The tops of the hills were surrounded by clouds.· Jill sat on the floor surrounded by boxes.
if something is ringed by things, those things form a circle around it: · Hoover Dam is ringed by snow-capped mountains that reach high above the desert plain.· Fifteen minutes after the explosion, the embassy was ringed by police officers and armed guards.
if something that you are looking at is framed by something, you see it within the borders of that thing: · I could see the church tower framed by the windows.· Her small face was framed by a mass of red hair
to form a wall or covering around something that keeps it separate from everything outside it: · The fence enclosing the prison compound is constantly patrolled by armed guards.be enclosed by something: · The garden was completely enclosed by a high wall.· The fish live in a shallow tropical lagoon, which is enclosed by a coral reef.be enclosed in something: · Jerry had to spend two months enclosed in a huge plastic bubble, to prevent him from catching germs from other children.
to move into a position around someone or something to stand in a circle around someone or something, especially to prevent someone escaping: · Football fans ran onto the field and surrounded the referee.· Police officers moved to surround Evans as he came out of the courtroom.
also gather round if a group of people gathers around someone or something, they move nearer to them, for example in order to see or hear better: · A crowd of young boys had gathered round to admire the car.gather around somebody/something: · After supper we gathered around the kitchen table and listened to Grandma tell stories about her childhood.
if a group of people encircle someone or something, they move so that they are completely around them, making it impossible for them to escape: · Troops encircled the city and began firing rockets at the government buildings.· The photo showed the captive sitting down, encircled by several armed men.
also crowd round British if a group of people crowds around someone or something, they stand near them closely together, often pushing forward to see what is happening: · Fire officers asked the people who had crowded round to stand back.crowd around somebody/something: · Dozens of journalists crowded around the Princess and started asking her questions.
moving in a circle or moving around something also round British use this after verbs of movement, to show that someone or something is moving in a circle or moving around something: go/fly/travel/run etc around: · The Earth goes around the Sun.· The helicopter flew round and round above us.
if someone or something moves in circles , they move around in a circle several times: · Birds flew in circles above the lake.· As the dog got more and more excited, it started running around in circles.
especially written to move around someone or something in a circle: · The plane circled the airport several times before landing.circle around/above: · As we walked along the beach, I could see seagulls circling above the cliffs.
to go around the Earth, the Moon, the Sun etc in a continuous circular movement: · The satellite will orbit the Earth for the next 15 years.· The team confirmed the discovery of a planet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi.
shaped like a ball · The recipe calls for large round tomatoes.· His bald round head reminded her of Sam.· European watermelons are much rounder than the American variety.· His stomach was big and round from drinking too much beer.
shaped like a ball - use this in technical contexts: · Edam cheeses are small and spherical in shape.· The earth is not quite spherical, because it is slightly flat at the poles.· La Geode, in Paris, is a unique spherical building with a cinema inside.
shaped like a circle · Violet stared at him with huge round eyes.· In the kitchen there was a round table with a vase of flowers on it.· She drew a round yellow sun in the center of the picture.
shaped exactly like a circle: · The cattle are kept in a large circular enclosure.· The planets follow almost circular orbits around the sun.· The Villa Madama has a circular courtyard with rooms leading off it in all directions.
shaped like a circle with slightly flat sides: · The portrait hung in an oval frame on the wall.· Some of the tables are oval in shape and some are round.
an object shaped like a ball · Shape the cookie dough into balls and put them in the refrigerator.· When hedgehogs are in danger, they curl their bodies into tight balls.ball of · The kitten was playing with a ball of yarn.· Comets are balls of ice and dirt that circle the sun.
shaped like a ball - use this in technical contexts: · At the top of each column is a perfect sphere of white marble.· The volume of a sphere is equal to twice the square of its radius, multiplied by pi.
a ball-shaped object, especially one that is used for decoration: · For the occasion the town square was lit up by coloured globes strung together.· The stuffed birds had been encased in glass globes.
with curved or slightly round sides neither straight nor completely round: · The entrance is formed by two curved rows of large stones.· The bird uses its long curved bill to dig out worms and small insects.· Shaving mirrors are slightly curved in order to magnify the image.
a rounded surface does not have any sharp edges or points: · The knife had a rounded wooden handle.· Her nails were perfectly rounded and painted with delicate pink nail-polish.· The blocks have rounded edges that are safer for small children.
shaped like a tube formal a tubular object is hollow and shaped like a tube: · Inside a bicycle tire is a long tubular piece of rubber.· It was a shaky little card table with legs of tubular metal.· The Renaissance Center is a huge tubular steel and glass shopping mall.
a cylindrical object has straight sides and flat round ends: · The cylindrical glass jars are used for keeping spaghetti in.· Roll the bread dough into a cylindrical shape.· a cylindrical marble column
shaped like a circle shaped like a circle: · In the kitchen there was a round table with a vase of flowers on it.· Violet stared at him with her huge round eyes.· The moon was perfectly round that night.
shaped like a circle, or moving in the shape of a circle: · The cattle are kept in a large enclosure surrounded by a circular fence.· The villa has a circular courtyard with rooms leading off it in all directions.· The procession follows a circular route through the town, and finishes back in the park.
having a particular shape use this to say what shape something is: · The windows were round, like the windows on a ship.· "What shape is the table?" "It's long and rectangular."be round/square etc in shape: · There was another building, octagonal in shape, close by.
use this to say that something has the same shape as something else: star-shaped/heart-shaped/L-shaped etc: · He gave me a necklace with a heart-shaped locket.· Gus lived in an apartment in a U-shaped courtyard.shaped like: · On the table were salt and pepper shakers shaped like teddy bears.
use this to say that something has the same shape as something else: · a beautiful blue bowl in the shape of a flower· There was a big chocolate cake in the shape of a heart on the main table.
WORD SETSadd, verbaddition, nounArabic numeral, nounarithmetic progression, nounbi-, prefixbillion, numbercalculate, verbcalculation, nouncardinal, nouncardinal number, nouncoefficient, nouncommon denominator, nounconstant, nouncube, verbcube root, nounD, noundecimal, noundecimal, adjectivedecimal point, noundemi-, prefixdenominator, noundigit, noundivide, verbdividend, noundivisible, adjectivedivision, noundivisor, noundouble-digit, adjectivedouble figures, nouneight, numbereighteen, numbereighth, adjectiveeighty, numbereleven, numberequal, adjectiveequal, verbequals sign, nouneven, adjectiveexponent, nounfactor, nounfactor, verbfactorial, nounfifteen, numberfifth, nounfifty, numberfig., figure, nounfive, numberforty, numberfour, numberfourteen, numberfourth, nounfraction, noungeometric progression, noungross, nounHCF, hundred, numberimproper fraction, nounindivisible, adjectiveinfinity, nouninteger, nounL, nounlogarithm, nounlowest common denominator, nounM, nounmedian, nounmedian, adjectivemillion, numbermultiple, nounmultiplication, nounmultiplication sign, nounmultiplication table, noun-nd, suffixnegative, adjectivenine, numbernineteen, numberninety, numberninth, adjectiveNo., nos., nothing, pronounnought, numbernumber, nounnumeral, nounnumerator, nounnumerical, adjectiveO, nounoblique, nounone, numberordinal number, nounpi, nounplot, verbplus, prepositionpoint, nounpositive, adjectiveprime number, nounproduct, nounproper fraction, nounproportion, nounquadr-, prefixquadrillion, numberquadruple, adjectivequotient, noun-rd, suffixroman numeral, nounroot, nounround, adjectivescore, numbersecond, numberserial number, nounset, nounsingle figures, nounsix, numbersixteen, numbersixty, numbersquare, nounsquare, verbsquared, adjectivesquare root, noun-st, suffixsubtract, verbsum, nountake, verbten, numbertenth, adjectivetertiary, adjectivetetra-, prefixthirteen, numberthirty, numberthousand, numberthree, numberthree-quarter, adjectivethreescore, numbertreble, determinertri-, prefixtrillion, numbertwelve, numbertwenty, numbertwice, adverbunit, nounV, nounvulgar fraction, nounwhole number, nounX, nounzero, number
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY She got a round of applause (=a short period of applause) when she finished. Christine edged her way round the back of the house. an endless round of boring meetings There are no good pubs round here. Bob was quicker than Ed? It’s usually the opposite way round. A coachload of supporters made the 700-mile round trip to South Devon. our Friday sports round-up The dining room was square in shape. He started to slog his way up the hill. Forty police officers are working round the clock (=working day and night without stopping) to find Murray’s killer.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN
(=expressed as the nearest 10, 100, 1,000 etc) Altogether, in round figures, there are about three thousand students here.
Altogether, in round figures, there are about three thousand students here. (=a complete hundred etc)
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES She got a round of applause (=a short period of applause) when she finished. British English (=behind a house or building) Have you looked round the back?
Have you looked round the back?· Suddenly a motorbike came around the bend at top speed.
· He rounded the bend much too fast.
(=all day and all night)· He needs round-the-clock care.
· Are you free later if I call in for a chat?
(=come around it)· A tall good-looking man rounded the corner.
spoken informal (=make someone feel very annoyed)· That voice of hers drives me up the wall.
· Why does the Earth goes around the Sun?
Christine edged her way round the back of the house. (=including a balance of lots of different subjects)· The school offers a good all-round education.
an endless round of boring meetings (=enough of something for everyone to have some) Do you think we’ve got enough pizza to go round?
Do you think we’ve got enough pizza to go round?· The children gazed at the screen, their eyes wide with excitement.
· Her face was round and jolly.
(=to the nearest 10, 20, 100 etc)· In round figures, about 20 million people emigrated from Europe during that period.
(=a complete game of golf)· He invited me to join him for a round of golf.
There are no good pubs round here. (=one part of a series of negotiations)· the next round of negotiations on trade barriers
(=a number ending in zero)· A hundred is a nice round number.
Bob was quicker than Ed? It’s usually the opposite way round. (=one set of redundancies in a series)· The industry has announced a new round of redundancies.
A coachload of supporters made the 700-mile round trip to South Devon. our Friday sports round-up The dining room was square in shape. He started to slog his way up the hill. (=when everyone can discuss things in an equal way)· An election law, agreed during round-table talks, gave every voter the right to two votes.
(=a series of talks that is part of a longer process)· A third round of talks was held in May.
(=a journey to a place and back again)· His wife makes a hundred and fifty mile round trip to see him twice a week.
Forty police officers are working round the clock (=working day and night without stopping) to find Murray’s killer.· She was young, with a round face and brown curly hair.· Nina had a round face, pale skin and short-cut hair.· A face rushed up to meet him, clear and lifelike; he stared into the sweet round face of his long-dead wife.· His round face seems small above his wide shoulders.· Their faces slipped through her mind, round faces and long faces, thin, fat, smiling, sombre.· Ted was the shortest with a very round face.· With lots of luck I came face to face with a round face man in uniform.· He had a round face made jovial by bright, almost boyish eyes and eyebrows ridiculously small for a man his size.
· The relief showed instantly on their faces as the small round figure of their uncle filled the doorway.· Estimates for the delay, given in round figures, ranged from two to eight hours.· As the end of the decade approached, natural growth was carrying this towards a round figure of 50 million.· Twenty is a nice, round figure.· The LibDems, in round figures, had 45 percent, Conservatives 25 percent and Labour 17.· That's five and a half hours at a bit under two knots - say ten miles in round figures.· Never ask for a big round figure.
· The baby ones are as pretty and appealing as kittens with their little round heads.· She wore her mixed gray Afro closely cut to the shape of her round head.· Paulette thought the Prince disgustingly ugly: he was obnoxiously thin, with a bulbous round head on a ridiculously long neck.· There would be no need for the round head and the round socket.
· Design: round neck, long sleeve top and long johns, women's and men's designs available.· With its pretty round neck, softly padded shoulders and front-pocket detail, it looks great worn with a skirt or trousers.· A simple round neck style with wrist length sleeves it makes the perfect foil for a favourite scarf or piece of jewellery.· A Crêpe-de-chine T-Top blouse with cap sleeves and a round neck bound in self cloth.· For a round neck, join one shoulder seam before estimating.· For a round neck, the band can be single or double thickness but a V-neck band can only be single thickness.· She had tried to soften the effect of long sleeves and a high round neck with a pair of pearl stud earrings.· Knit two rows and bind off for a round neck or cast off for a V-neck.
· Mr. Speaker: I think that the Hon. Member might start the round robin.· In a three-pair round robin tournament they finished ahead of Simon Jacob and Anthony Chapman.· Last night Lendl had little difficulty in defeating John McEnroe 6-4, 6-4 at the conclusion of the round robin phase.· Cricket this year switches to an eight-aside round robin for under-12 teams, run over two days.
· On a small round table, polished for him by Dadda, was a bust of Tace.· A round table was covered with a white linen cloth and glistening silverware.· There was a paperback on the round table to the right of her chair.· They sat at a round table covered with a lace cloth.· A round table covered in cracked oilcloth stood bare of bowls, jugs, cups and saucers.· They dream of a great castle called Camelot and a round table that could seat 150 knights.· In the middle of the room was a round table covered with oilcloth, and four high-backed carved chairs set around it.
· Duncan charged £5-a-head for the 200-mile round trip to the new brewery.· The boatmen who brought trade goods up the Missouri as far as the Yellowstone made $ 220 for the round trip.· Distributors would travel perhaps a 1,500-kilometre round trip to collect stocks of vehicle accessories.· Radio signals from Laurel to Mathilde and back will need 36 minutes to make the round trip.· The Rocky Mountaineer will continue to make one round trip a week in summer from Vancouver to Calgary.· However, it has scheduled three extra round trips between Phoenix and Las Vegas on Sunday, to accommodate people staying there.· This is a round trip of some 16 miles and on Skye counts as one of the easiest expeditions.· The round trip of some twelve miles is one of the finest of mountain expeditions.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► all round► big-bottomed/round-bottomed etc► clip somebody round the ear/earhole► pale-faced/round-faced etc► get round something► get round somebody► the milk round► have a (good) root round► see around/round something► a square peg in a round hole► talk somebody around/round
- Anyway, he drives Kate round the bend.
- But if you are going round the bend and resist seeking any help you are deemed to be perfectly okay.
- I go round the bend just looking after kids all day.
- If you are known to be seeing a shrink you are deemed to be going round the bend.
- With the rector, however, Arthur still can not bring the conversation around to the confession he once planned to make.
- You might get a clip round the ear.
- Around the corner, their classmates practiced pulling small-fry violin bows across squeaky strings.
- I rounded the corner, then stopped, waited a moment and peeked back into the lobby.
- Rats gnawed on black infants' feet, while money was used to build new police stations around the corner.
- She might think we're just around the corner and that we're not coming to see her.
- She peered round the corner of the house.
- She was around the corner, talking to Hoffmann.
- The Derby Tonelli grocery store of my mind could have stood around the corner from my house.
- There was always something around the corner if you didn't lose your head.
- Gasping for breath, Isabel managed to twist her head away from him and look around.
- Get all your benefits sorted out and then start looking around again.
- He looks around him at everybody watching.
- I came and looked around and felt this campus is no different than the society at large.
- In the silence Johnson looked around at the porch for any details he may have forgotten.
- My heart sank as I looked around.
- Two old ladies look round in my direction.
- When they were gone, Petey crawled out and looked around.
- This particular heritage may be a millstone around the neck of scientific natural history.
- It may also be more accurate to say that the user responds to the system rather than the other way around.
- It only works the other way round.
- Language, I have learned, by writing about this, gives birth to feeling, not the other way around.
- Only it should really have been the other way around, when you get right down to it.
- Right now, that is the other way around.
- The question is better put the other way around: will Californians pay much attention to the politicians?
- What is more, in Britain in the 1980s it was the other way round.
- But I am known in these parts to be a really good judge of character.
- Colangelo is, as they say with both admiration and bitterness in these parts, large and in charge.
- Distances in these parts are surprisingly tiny.
- It is not done to miss a marriage in these parts.
- Llewelyn's well served in these parts, it seems.
- Their labours will meet reward, for such servants are as gold in these parts.
- There are very few dead nights in clubland round these parts.
- Whatever his inclinations, Larren is some one whose prospects and personal powers make him in these parts a man of capital importance.
- A dozen cemetery companies have sniffed around Hollywood Memorial and then walked away.
- Get people talking round a subject.
- He had never heard Alex talk around dope before.
- In the early days I remember we could spend an hour talking round one position.
- It was the talk around the base.
- Robyn listened helplessly as they talked around and about her and remembered.
- We talk round all these factors and eventually that tends to work towards a particular player.
- We must have spent at least five minutes talking round the subject.
- Why was she conspiring with him to talk around the subject rather than come to the point?
- You'd think I was round the twist if I told you.
- A possible way round this problem has been suggested by Sen and others.
- Or was it the other way round?
- See diversion sign and ask B if he knows the best way around it.
- She hoped he would find another way up, but this thought still was the central meaning of his whimpers.
- Some people, at bottom, really want the world to take care of them, rather than the other way around.
- They think they gon na talk their way up on it.
- When we find ways around the size of the school, the ultimate reward is a climate that fosters Community.
- It's Sally's birthday tomorrow. We'd better have a whip-round so we can get her a present.
- Church twisted his head sideways as if the writing were the wrong way round.
- Centrally heated and open all year round.
- Hours 4 1/2 hours a week, 45 hours total. * Intensive courses: Duration 2-4 weeks, all year round.
- It is warm all year round, with warm summers, mild winters and moderate rainfall.
- Most importantly, the Conquistadores use the proceeds from the tournament to help fund local youth sports all year round.
- Seasons: The crag faces west, is sited just above the sea and climbing is generally possible all year round.
- Soon, the pests were everywhere, all year round.
- We have witches all year round.
WORD FAMILYnounroundroundersroundnessadjectiveroundroundedadverbroundroundlyverbround
1shaped like a circle: a big round table Jamie’s eyes grew round with delight.2shaped like a ball: small round berries3fat and curved: round chubby cheeks4[only before noun] a round number or figure is a whole number, often ending in 0: Let’s make it a round figure: say £50?in round figures (=expressed as the nearest 10, 100, 1,000 etc) Altogether, in round figures, there are about three thousand students here.a round hundred/dozen etc (=a complete hundred etc) → a square peg in a round hole at square1(12)—roundness noun [uncountable]