I. ˈrau̇nd verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English rounen, from Old English rūnian; akin to Old High German rūnēn to whisper, Old Norse rȳna to converse confidentially; all from a prehistoric North Germanic-West Germanic denominative verb from the source of Old English rūn mystery, secret — more at rune
intransitive verb
archaic : whisper
transitive verb
1. : to whisper (something)
2. : to speak to (someone) in a whisper
II. adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English round, rounde, from Old French roont, rount (feminine roonde, rounde ) from Latin rotundus; akin to Latin rota wheel — more at roll
1.
a. : having every part of the surface or of the circumference equally distant from a center within : spherical , circular , annular , spiral
b. : circular in cross section : cylindrical
c. : having a curved outline or form especially like the arc of a circle or an ellipse or a part of the surface of a sphere
d. of an arch : having a semicircular intrados — see arch illustration
e. archaic : having a full or circular form — used of a garment
f. of shoulders : bent forward from the line or plane of a person's back
2. : well fleshed : well filled out : plump , shapely
3.
a. : complete , full — used of a number or quantity
a round dozen
a round million men
a round ton of irreclaimable scrap
b. : approximately correct ; especially : exact only to the nearest ten, hundred, or multiple of these
his year's profit was about $5000 as a round figure
c. : substantial in amount : ample , large
will be taken off our hands quickly and at a good round price — T.B.Costain
4.
a. : showing severity or violence : harsh
gave him a round hiding — Ellery Queen
b. : marked by bluntness, directness, or forthrightness : bold , plain , outspoken
asserted with a round oath … that all sergeants were liars — Haldane Macfall
c. : brisk , fast , vigorous
set a round pace — John Buchan
5.
a. : traversing a course that ends at its starting point after retracing itself or making a circuit — used especially in the phrase round trip
b. : moving in or forming a circle — compare round dance
6.
a. : brought to completion or perfection : thoroughly wrought : finished
b. : imaginatively presented or drawn with lifelike fullness or vividness : seen from all sides or in many aspects
the characters and their motives are as round and deep as those we might hope to find in a serious novel — Times Literary Supplement
7. : delivered with a more or less full swing of the arm
a round blow
8. : having full or unimpeded resonance or tone : mellow , rich , sonorous
9. : pronounced with rounded lips : labialized
10. : of or relating to handwriting that is predominantly curved rather than angular
a round schoolboy hand
11. : of or relating to a transaction in securities that includes both buying and selling (as the sale of issues previously bought or a purchase made to cover a short sale)
12. of a fish : not gutted or dressed : entire
III. adverb
Etymology: Middle English round, rounde, from round (II)
1.
a. : in a circular or curved path or progression : in a course that follows a circle, ellipse, orbit, or spiral : around
our plane circled round at dusk — Noel Barber
b. : in close from all sides so as to surround, confine, or ring about
walls and towers girdled round with radiance and splendor — Brooks Atkinson
c. : by a circuitous or curving route : in an indirect or roundabout way
brought the milk round to the back door
did not shine at golf but went round in the middle 80s
d. : to each of a group or number in succession : in turn : in rotation
handed round water in an enamel mug — Margaret Kennedy
cigars enough to go round
2. : on every side : in all or various directions from a fixed point
the peasants round about his father's parish — O.S.J.Gogarty
made frequent excursions in the country round
3. : with revolving or rotating motion
the wheel turns round
4. obsolete : directly , outspokenly
5. : to a place or person either specified or understood
sent round for the doctor
invited them round to meet his guest
called his car round
6. : approximately , nearly
happened at the corner or round there
7. : from beginning to end : through
about 700 workers are employed at the plant the year round — American Guide Series: Maryland
8.
a. : in the reverse or opposite direction : to the rear
turned round in his chair to look
b. : from one opinion or attitude to another : to a different or altered position
see if you can talk me round — Dorothy Sayers
9.
a. : here and there : from one place to another : all about
word got round quickly
b. : over a property to inspect it
showed the visitors round
10. : back to normal health or equilibrium
brought a woman round after a faint
11. : in a series or progression : in order
seemed to be going about things the wrong way round
IV. preposition
1.
a. : so as to progress around or make the circuit of
had the great thrill of flying round Africa — C.B.Randall b.1891
b. : so as to revolve or rotate about (an axis or center)
pointed out that the planets move round the sun in the same direction and nearly in the same plane — H.S.Jones
c. : so as to make a partial circuit of : so as to reach the other side of by a curving course
whether he sailed directly across the bay … or coasted round it is uncertain — Stanley Casson
d. : so as to follow the curving line of : along the bend of
it was a mile by water, four miles round the shore — David Walker
e. : beyond the projection of
it stood just round the corner from his father's house — Van Wyck Brooks
2.
a. : so as to encircle or enclose : on all sides of
the fat thus formed is to be found in large masses … round the kidneys — S.J.Watson
they swarmed close round her to hear — C.S.Forester
pulled her shawl closer round her — T.H.Barnardo
b. : in the vicinity of : adjacent to : near
the lands round the city — Herbert Agar
c. : so as to form a group or mass about
will tend to gather round him the best minds in America — New Republic
a great puddle formed round the hole
d.
(1) : from point to point or from person to person in : here and there in
took his way round the city, passing a discreet word here and a mere look there as he went
refreshes the students' memories by asking a few simple questions round the class — D.H.Spencer
(2) : throughout the extent of : all over : all through
the blood circulates round the body
3.
a. : in all directions from
we cannot measure it by what we see round us — Lewis Galantiere
b. : so as to have a center or basis in
the flame … was yellow on the outside, bluish in the middle, but there was no color round the wick — Stuart Cloete
the biography is centered round the individual — Richard Pares
4.
a. : all during a specified period of time : throughout
the perfect satisfaction which is one equation of love — round the days, the weeks — Ethel Wilson
b. : at about a specified time or season
round 1900 his repute was still untarnished
he had to find gunpowder and guns to keep the army from dissolving round Christmas — Times Literary Supplement
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English rounde, from round (II) ; in some senses probably from Middle French or French rond, ronde, from rond (adjective), from Old French roont, rount
1. : something round: as
a. : a spherical object or surface : ball , globe
b.
(1) : a circular area or surface or its circumference : circle , ring
(2) obsolete : crown
and wears upon his baby brow the round and top of sovereignty — Shakespeare
c. : a cylindrical object
maintained a stock of bar steel that included rounds up to 2 1/2 inches in diameter
d. : a circular building, wall, or other structure or a rounded or circular part of one (as a turret)
e. : a knot of people or a circle of things
f. : a topographical circle, bend, or curve
2. : round dance 1
a light fantastic round — John Milton
3. : a polyphonic vocal composition in which three or four voices follow each other around in a canon at the unison or octave : circular canon
4.
a. : a rung of a ladder or of a chair
b. : a round rod constituting a machine part (as a cylindrical bar of a lantern pinion)
c. : a rounded molding
5.
a. : a circling or circuitous path or course
b. : motion in a circle or about a curving track
won his race only with a final fast round of the track
6. : a route or circuit habitually covered: as
a. : the circuit covered by a military watch at a camp or other installation ; also : a military patrol that makes rounds to keep order in a community or to keep sentinels alert
b. : the beat or route regularly covered by a watchman or policeman — usually used in plural
c. Britain : the route of a newspaper delivery boy, milkman, or other vendor
d. : a series of professional calls on patients in a hospital made by a doctor or nurse — usually used in plural
e. : a series of social calls or visits : a routine of social activity
a busy round of dances and parties
f. : a circuit or progression of similar calls or stops
undertook a round of nightclubs after the play
hurriedly made the rounds of his ice cream customers
g. : a line or course by which rumor, news, or other communication spreads among people — often used in plural
rumors calling his solvency in question were going the rounds of the brokerage offices
knew he could expect any gossip that might be going the rounds
h. rounds plural , Britain : a circuit from farm to farm formerly followed by agricultural laborers
7. obsolete : a piece of sculpture modeled in full form unattached to a background
8. : a drink of liquor apiece served at one time to each person in a group
this round is on me
9. : a series or sequence of actions, events, or affairs that recur in routine or repetitive manner
politics exist that men may live the daily round in security — J.M.Cameron
life for them is one round of committees and council meetings — Margaret Stewart
10. : a cycle of time : a period that recurs in a fixed pattern
the round of the hours
the annual round
11.
a. : one shot fired by a weapon or by each man in a military unit : salvo , volley
b. : a unit of ammunition consisting of all the parts (as a projectile, a propellant, an igniting charge, and a primer) necessary in the firing and functioning of one shot
12. : a unit of card play constituted by each player's having had a turn (as in playing a card, receiving a card in the deal, dealing, or betting)
13. : a unit or division of play in a sports contest or game which occupies a stated period of time, covers a prescribed distance, includes a specified number of moves or plays, or gives each player one turn: as
a. : any of various archery events in which a specified number of arrows are shot at prescribed distances
b. : one of the three-minute periods into which a boxing match is divided
c. : the playing of 18 holes of golf or one circuit of the course
d. : a series of 25 shots in trapshooting or skeet
e. : a match in an elimination tournament
14. Britain : a brewer's vessel in which fermentation is carried out
15. : an outburst of applause
took half a dozen curtain calls in response to repeated rounds of applause
16.
a. : a hind leg of beef especially between the rump and the lower leg
a roast round of beef
— see beef illustration
b. : a small beef casing
c. : a slice of food
a round of bread
a round of rolled dough
a round of celeriac root
17. rounds plural : the original striking order of a set of bells in change ringing
the return to rounds concludes a set of changes
18. : a rounded or curved part: as
a. : the shaft of a paddle
b. : the convex backbone or concave fore edge of a book
19. : a group or series of drill holes blasted in sequence in advancing mine working places
20. : an artist's brush having a round tapered point — compare bright , flat
21. : a row in circular needlework (as knitting or crocheting)
•
- in round
- in the round
- out of round
VI. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English rounden, from round (II)
transitive verb
1.
a. : to make circular, spherical, or cylindrical : give a round or convex shape to (as the backbone of a book)
b. : to curve or curl into a ring or ball
had rounded her body into a little circular heap while she slept
c.
(1) : to make (the lips) more or less round and protruded by lessening the distance between the corners of the mouth (as in the pronunciation of ü)
(2) : to pronounce (a vowel or consonant) with rounding of the lips : labialize
2. archaic
a. : to trim (hair) short around the head
b. : to crop the hair of (a person)
c. : to trim the lobe of (a dog's ear)
3.
a. : to go around : make the circuit of
b. : to pass part way around : reach the other side of by a curving course : go about (a point or corner) : double
whenever you round a turn, there's a view — E.W.Smith
the railroad had rounded the hill — American Guide Series: Arkansas
slipped in loose dirt rounding first base — Bob Broeg
4. : to ring about : encircle , encompass , surround
the inclusive verge of golden metal that must round my brow — Shakespeare
5.
a. : to bring to fullness or completion : perfect the form of : finish off
has rounded the characters by giving each a claim for sympathy — Henry Hewes
b. : to bring to perfection of style : polish
music rose from paragraph after rounded paragraph
an epigram rounded the sentence with a flourish
6. : to cause to face about : turn or swing around
with a dexterous swerve he rounded the yawl about — Frederick Way
7. : to express (a number) in briefer or less exact form : state as a round number: as
a. : to drop decimal figures to the right of a specified number of places after increasing the final remaining figure by 1 if the first digit dropped is 5 or greater
11.3572 rounded to three decimals becomes 11.357
9.419 rounded to two decimals is 9.42
b. : to express an an approximate round number rather than as the exact figure
we are rounding all figures to the nearest hundred million — G.V.Cox
8.
a. : to cut (fleshed hides) in sections for treatment : trim
b.
(1) : to cut (sole leather) to required shape with a knife rather than a die
(2) : to cut (the sole of a shoe) to conform to the shape of a last after a sole has been attached
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : to go rounds as a guard or watchman
2.
a. : to become circular or spherical : grow round or plump : attain a shapely form
her body now rounds into womanhood
b. : to reach fullness, adequacy, or completion : develop , grow
the sales campaign he had outlined was now rounding into final shape
the century rounded into its third decade — R.B.Fosdick
3. : to take a curving line or direction : follow a winding course : bend
leaning wide on the turns like jockeys rounding into the home stretch — H.L.Davis
•
- round on
VII. adjective
of a wine : being well-balanced in taste with fruit flavors more prominent than tannins
• roundness noun