INDEX:
1. shaped like a ball
2. shaped like a circle
3. an object shaped like a ball
4. with curved or slightly round sides
5. shaped like a tube
RELATED WORDS
around something or moving around something : ↑ AROUND/ROUND
see also
↑ CIRCLE
↑ SHAPE
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1. shaped like a ball
▷ round /raʊnd/ [adjective]
▪ 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.
▷ spherical /ˈsferɪk ə l/ [adjective]
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.
2. shaped like a circle
▷ round /raʊnd/ [adjective]
▪ 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.
▷ circular /ˈsɜːʳkɑləʳ/ [adjective]
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.
▷ oval /ˈəʊv ə l/ [adjective]
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.
3. an object shaped like a ball
▷ ball /bɔːl/ [countable noun]
▪ 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.
▷ sphere /sfɪəʳ/ [countable noun]
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.
▷ globe /gləʊb/ [countable noun]
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.
4. with curved or slightly round sides
▷ curved /kɜːʳvd/ [adjective]
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.
▷ rounded /ˈraʊndɪd, ˈraʊndəd/ [adjective]
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.
5. shaped like a tube
▷ tubular /ˈtjuːbjɑləʳǁˈtuː-/ [adjective] 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.
▷ cylindrical /sɪˈlɪndrɪk ə l, səˈlɪndrɪk ə l/ [adjective]
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