I. round 1 S2 W2 /raʊnd/ BrE AmE especially British English ( also around ) adverb , preposition
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ round , ↑ rounders , ↑ roundness ; adverb : ↑ round , ↑ roundly ; adjective : ↑ round , ↑ rounded ; verb : ↑ round ]
1 . surrounding or on all sides of something or someone:
We sat round the table playing cards.
Gather round! I have an important announcement to make.
He put his arm gently round her waist.
I kept the key on a chain round my neck.
The ballroom’s huge, with windows all the way round.
There was a lovely courtyard with tables all round.
2 . used to say that someone or something turns so that they face in the opposite direction:
When he turned round I recognised him immediately.
Graham glanced round, startled by the voice behind him.
3 . in or to many places or parts of an area:
Reggie went round making sure all the lights were off.
Leah showed me round on my first day at the office.
A guide took us round the palace and gardens.
He spent a whole year travelling round Europe.
She looked round the room as though leaving it for the last time.
changes that are affecting the weather all round the world
4 . moving in a circle:
She watched the clock hands go round.
An aeroplane was circling round far overhead.
Until the 16th century people believed that the sun went round the earth.
He stared at the washing machine, just watching the clothes go round and round.
a shoal of tiny fish swimming round in circles
5 . informal if you go round to someone’s house, you go to their house, usually to visit them:
I might go round to Nigel’s this evening.
He’s invited us round for dinner.
We’ll be round (=will arrive) at seven.
6 . to other people or positions:
A big box of chocolates was handed round.
He’d moved his furniture round.
7 . on the other side of something, or to the other side of it without going through it or over it:
He ran round to open Kate’s door for her.
There must be another entrance round the back.
I watched the two boys disappear round the corner.
round to
She came round to his side of the desk.
8 . in the area near a particular place:
Much of the countryside round Hinkley Point is given over to agriculture.
Do you live round here?
He owned all the land round about (=in the surrounding area) .
9 . round about spoken informal ( also round ) used when guessing a number, amount, time etc without being exact SYN approximately :
We got there round about half past nine.
He’s round about the same age as my son.
It must have been round midnight when I saw him.
10 . used to show that someone spends time in a place without doing anything useful:
People were just standing round and not doing anything to help.
11 . if something is organized round a particular person or thing, it is organized according to their needs, wishes, ideas etc:
Working from home, she could arrange her hours round her children.
He had built his whole existence round her.
12 . a way round a difficult situation or problem is a way to solve it or avoid it:
She’s going to have to buy a car. I can’t see any other way round it.
strategies to get round (=solve) the problem
13 . used to show the length of a line surrounding something:
The park was about five miles round.
⇨ ALL ROUND , ⇨ go round in circles at ↑ circle 1 (5), ⇨ (a)round the clock at ↑ clock 1 (2), ⇨ (just) around/round the corner at ↑ corner 1 (9), ⇨ first/second time round at ↑ time 1 (3), ⇨ way round at ↑ way 1 (24)
II. round 2 S1 W2 BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ round , ↑ rounders , ↑ roundness ; adverb : ↑ round , ↑ roundly ; adjective : ↑ round , ↑ rounded ; verb : ↑ round ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: roont , from Latin rotundus ]
1 . shaped like a circle:
a big round table
Jamie’s eyes grew round with delight.
2 . shaped like a ball:
small round berries
3 . fat and curved:
round chubby cheeks
4 . [only before noun] a round number or figure is a whole number, often ending in 0 ⇨ round up :
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 ↑ square 1 (12)
—roundness noun [uncountable]
III. round 3 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ round , ↑ rounders , ↑ roundness ; adverb : ↑ round , ↑ roundly ; adjective : ↑ round , ↑ rounded ; verb : ↑ round ]
1 . SERIES a round of events is a series of related events, which are part of a longer process
round of
a third round of peace talks
the Government’s latest round of expenditure cuts
2 . COMPETITION one of the parts of a competition that you have to finish or win before you can go on to the next part ⇨ heat , stage
the first/final/next/qualifying etc round
I got beaten in the first round.
Two of their candidates made it through to the next round.
round of
the final round of the championship
3 . REGULAR ACTIVITIES round of something a round of activities is a regular series of activities, especially activities that are not very exciting:
an endless round of meetings and interviews
He continued with his usual round of private and business engagements.
the daily round of commuting and shopping
4 . VISITS rounds [plural] the usual visits that someone, especially a doctor, regularly makes as part of their job
be (out) on your rounds
I’m sorry. The doctor is out on her rounds.
5 . round of applause when people ↑ clap for a short time to show that they enjoyed something or approve of something:
She got a big round of applause.
The passengers gave the pilot a round of applause.
6 . GOLF a complete game of golf:
I played a round of golf on Sunday morning.
7 . BOXING/WRESTLING one of the periods of fighting in a ↑ boxing or ↑ wrestling match
8 . DRINKS if you buy a round of drinks in a bar, you buy drinks for all the people in your group
it’s my/your etc round (=used to say whose turn it is to buy drinks for all the people in your group)
What are you having? It’s my round.
9 . do the rounds British English informal , make the rounds American English ( also go the rounds British English ) if a story, idea, or illness does the rounds, it is passed on from one person to another:
a joke doing the rounds
10 . do the rounds of something British English , make the rounds of something American English to go around from one place to another, especially looking for work or advertising something:
Ryan is making the rounds of talk shows to promote her new movie.
11 . GUN SHOT a single shot from a gun, or a bullet for one shot:
I’ve only got ten rounds of ammunition left.
Richards fired a few rounds.
12 . CIRCLE something that has a circular shape:
Slice the potatoes into rounds.
13 . FOOD/NEWSPAPERS/LETTERS ETC British English a regular visit to a number of houses, offices etc to deliver or sell things
paper/milk round (=a job in which you deliver newspapers, milk etc to people’s houses)
I used to do a paper round.
14 . SONG a song for three or four singers, in which each one sings the same tune, starting at a different time
15 . round of sandwiches British English ↑ sandwich es made from two whole pieces of bread
16 . round of toast British English one whole piece of bread that has been ↑ toast ed
17 . in the round a play that is performed in the round is performed on a central stage surrounded by the people watching it
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ phrases
▪ a round of talks/negotiations/meetings
A second round of talks got under way this week.
▪ a round of voting
In the first round of voting he took 44.5 percent of the vote,
▪ a round of cuts (=when a government or a company reduces the size or amount of something)
The President is likely to approve a new round of cuts in military forces.
▪ a round of layoffs (=when people are told to leave their jobs)
The latest round of layoffs could bring its labor force down to 60,000.
▪ a round of violence
What has prompted the latest round of violence?
IV. round 4 BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ round , ↑ rounders , ↑ roundness ; adverb : ↑ round , ↑ roundly ; adjective : ↑ round , ↑ rounded ; verb : ↑ round ]
1 . [transitive] to go round something such as a bend or the corner of a building:
As they rounded the bend and came in sight of the river, Philip took her hand.
The tide was coming in as he rounded the rocks.
2 . [transitive] to make something into a round shape:
The stones were then rounded, polished and engraved.
3 . [intransitive] written if your eyes round, you open them wide because you are shocked, frightened etc:
Barbara’s eyes rounded in surprise.
⇨ ↑ rounded , ↑ well-rounded
round something ↔ down phrasal verb
to reduce an exact figure to the nearest whole number ⇨ round up :
For the 1841 census it was decided to round down ages over fifteen to the nearest five.
round something ↔ off phrasal verb
1 . to do something as a way of ending an event, performance etc in a suitable or satisfactory way SYN finish
round something ↔ off with
You can round off the evening with a visit to the nightclub.
She rounded off the meal with some cheese.
It was the perfect way to round off the season.
2 . to take the sharp or rough edges off something:
Round off the corners with a pair of scissors.
3 . to change an exact figure to the nearest whole number
round something ↔ off to
Prices are rounded off to the nearest dollar.
round on somebody phrasal verb British English
to suddenly turn and attack someone when they do not expect it, either with words or physically:
When the door closed, Crabb rounded on Edwards. ‘You stupid idiot!’
round something ↔ out phrasal verb
to make an experience more thorough or complete:
African percussion and Native American flute round out the show.
round somebody/something ↔ up phrasal verb
1 . if police or soldiers round up a particular group of people, they find them and force them to go to prison:
Thousands of men were rounded up and jailed.
2 . to find and gather together a group of people, animals, or things:
See if you can round up a few friends to help you!
His dog Nell started to round up the sheep.
3 . to increase an exact figure to the next highest whole number ⇨ round down