释义 |
Definition of round in English: roundadjective raʊndraʊnd 1Shaped like a circle or cylinder. she was seated at a small, round table Example sentencesExamples - A faint light shone from the small round window on the door.
- In front of the fireplace sat a round card table, covered by a green cloth, and flanked by four plush, green leather upholstered wingback chairs.
- I read each label on the round cylinders and the vials within.
- Marie was sitting at one of the small round tables surrounding the dance floor.
- It is also a town with an impressive heritage - an ancient church and round tower and a large enclosed medieval castle, some of which has been re-roofed.
- The circle, on a hilltop setting, is nearly perfectly round, with a diameter of 33 m.
- Without really thinking about it, she drew a huge, round circle on the page.
- I could see the fear etched across her small round face.
- She had large, round gold earrings that she always wore.
- A small round table at one end and a book stand next to it.
- The Emperor Augustus had built a round shrine in front of it to put a Roman hallmark on Greece.
- His eyes look huge behind those rosy round spectacles.
- Ebony woke to see the morning sun light just coming through the small round window.
- Each door has a small round window and on the walls hang life buoys.
- He takes off his small round glasses, wipes away the mist.
- The 40 rooms are small round huts with thatched roofs rising to a central spire.
- In the center was a perfectly round hole, also three-quarters of an inch.
- Blake was sitting at one of the round tables, staring into thin air.
- A small " perfectly round hole " was found in the glass, which was crazed.
- He saluted and adjusted his large round wire rimmed glasses.
Synonyms circular, disc-shaped, disc-like ring-shaped, hoop-shaped, hoop-like, annular spherical, globular, ball-shaped, globe-shaped, orb-shaped, orb-like, cylindrical, bulbous, bulb-shaped, balloon-like convex, curved, curvilinear, rounded, rotund technical cycloidal, discoid, discoidal, spheroid, spheroidal rare globate, globose, orbicular, orbiculate - 1.1 Having a curved shape like part of the circumference of a circle.
Example sentencesExamples - The second floor was raised on round arches and supported a balcony resting on a row of buttresses forming an eaveslike projection.
- Her hair was combed neatly, and her nails were nicely trimmed to make perfect round shapes.
- Byzantine architecture is distinguished by its use of the round arch, cross, circle, dome, and rich mosaic ornament.
- They slid into a round booth next to a French window.
- Thick green grass lined a small, almost perfectly round curve along the bank of a stream, a small waterfall splashing softly thirty feet away.
- This has a vaulted ceiling supported on round arches.
- She sat down on the rock and unbuckled her shoe which was black with a round toe and a chunky heel, rather like a boot that'd had the top cut off it.
- 1.2 (of a person's shoulders) bent forward from the line of the back.
Example sentencesExamples - There is little or no excuse for round shoulders in healthy people.
- His personal trademark are the signs of an existential fatigue: drooping shoulders, round backs, knees that are bent inward, lowered heads.
- The innkeeper raised appealing eyes to heaven, spread out his long fingers, and heaved his round shoulders.
- Round shoulders are often associated with tall people who round their shoulders to appear smaller.
2Shaped like a sphere. the grapes are small and round Example sentencesExamples - Her words rise toward the surface in bright, round bubbles.
- It was round and spherical, with a deep groove on one side.
- Tidily stacked on the shelves are round cabbages, stripped of their rough outer leaves, and a basket of glossy apples; bright seemly rotundities.
- Baseball is more than round balls and base runs; it can also involve branding, design, and typography.
- As it opened a small round object rolled out of it.
- He reached into his pocket and brought forth a small round sphere.
- Slowly people left, and just as slowly the park darkened and the quaint round lanterns set around the circle flickered into life.
- Then suddenly, he pulled the pinchers out, and in their serrated grasp was a perfectly round lead musket ball.
- Some dolls had cloth bodies with a small round gourd, acorn, or apple for a head.
- I mean, melons come in all shapes and sizes - are we talking about little round gala melons or bloody big watermelons here?
- Elizabeth reached her arm out of the shop door and picked up a heavy, round stone.
- That day I had worn this thick cotton quilted coat and pants that my mother had made me, and I looked like a round snowball.
- 2.1 (of a person's body) plump.
he could move quickly despite his round physique Example sentencesExamples - Mr. Roberts was very bald, very round, had very thick glasses, and looked very hungry.
- Uncle August was married to my Aunt Avice, a pudgy and round sort of woman.
- Lennie is a big man with great strength; his body and features are round and undefined.
- An old man with white hair came waddling out of the cottage, followed by a plump, round woman with rosy cheeks.
- His round body was only slightly taller than her own.
- Jasmine kissed him on his bruised lips and pressed as much of her round body against him as she could.
- Sheriff T.C. Wynn was a tall, round man with thick, shaded glasses and jet black hair that was graying at his temples.
- The round man blinked and adjusted his small circular glasses.
- Alex had naturally blond hair that was almost white, a perfect tan, a short and round frame that made her look chunky in certain outfits, and green eyes.
- I thought of her round shape, her smiling eyes, and I couldn't help feeling warm inside.
- A genuinely happy and rather round nurse bustled over to her.
- She wore baggy shirts and tight pants which only accentuated her round figure.
- The round old man hurried to their side, eyeing the mix, taking a tentative mouthful of it.
- The rather round boy was identified as Paul and the freckly boy as Jake.
- Richard Greene, a short, rather round man with thinning dirty-blonde hair, chuckled.
- Josh Jones was a short, round man with a high-pitched voice and a constant grin.
Synonyms plump, chubby, fat, stout, rotund, roly-poly, fattish, portly, dumpy, chunky, broad in the beam, overweight, heavy, pot-bellied, beer-bellied, paunchy, Falstaffian buxom, well upholstered, well covered, well padded, of ample proportions, ample, rounded, well rounded, full flabby, fleshy, bulky, corpulent, obese informal tubby, pudgy, beefy, porky, blubbery, poddy British informal podgy, fubsy North American informal zaftig, corn-fed, lard-assed archaic pursy rare abdominous - 2.2 Having a curved surface with no sharp projections.
the boulders look round and smooth Example sentencesExamples - The catalyst comprises a support containing palladium and silver and having a uniformly round external surface.
- I felt my hand being pressed against a smooth, round mound.
- A large, round, smooth rock protruded suddenly a few feet past a break in the forest.
- Why are rocks found near rivers mostly smooth and round?
3(of a voice) rich and mellow; not harsh. his rich, round voice went down well with the listeners Example sentencesExamples - He speaks this language like every other American, with a deep round voice that seems to come from somewhere below his knees.
- ‘I always like champagne in the afternoon,’ he informed me in his rich round voice.
- She spoke without any apparent accent, in a round voice filled with soft vowels and smooth consonants.
Synonyms sonorous, resonant, rich, full, full-toned, full-bodied, mellow, mellifluous, rounded, reverberant, orotund rare pear-shaped, canorous 4attributive (of a number) expressed in convenient units rather than exactly, for example to the nearest whole number or multiple of ten. the size of the fleet is given in round numbers Example sentencesExamples - The store manager saw on the daily transaction report that something was wrong, because it displayed an odd dollar amount rather than a round multiple of 20.
- They were confused by our round sum of $25,000,000.
- However, for the purposes of argument, let's stick with a million as a nice round figure.
- Can you put a round figure on the kind of government investment you're going to need to get this up and running?
- Do you think the company could string things out long enough for the fine to reach a nice, round billion dollars?
- However other American railways used different gauges. 4 foot 10 inches was popular, and in the South a round 5 foot was often used.
- We could easily have taken more - but I wanted a nice, round number.
- 4.1 Used to show that a figure has been completely and exactly reached.
the batsman made a round 100 Example sentencesExamples - The network of offices reached a round dozen this year.
- His output under his own name reached a round 200 novels.
- Strauss, who made a round 50 on Tuesday, was the only England batsman to pass 45 runs in the match.
Synonyms complete, entire, whole, full, undivided, unbroken - 4.2archaic (of a sum of money) considerable.
his business is worth a round sum to me Example sentencesExamples - As to the money raised by local subscription, no definite apportionment has yet been made but we understand that Woodhouse will receive a good round sum.
5Not omitting or disguising anything; frank. she berated him in good round terms Synonyms candid, frank, direct, honest, truthful, straightforward, plain, plain-spoken, blunt, outspoken, forthright, downright, unvarnished, bald, straight from the shoulder, explicit, unequivocal informal upfront, not pulling any punches, not beating about the bush archaic free-spoken
noun raʊndraʊnd 1A circular piece of something. cut the pastry into rounds Example sentencesExamples - All meals are accompanied with large rounds of flat bread.
- Cannon says they were developed for adults to either snack on right out of the bag or use on a party tray with crackers or small bread rounds.
- Wendy had bowls and soup spoons laid out, and gracing the center of the table was a large round of crusty bread, still warm from the oven.
- We rolled the huge rounds into the old wood shed.
- Working carefully, I slid a thin knife under the wax rounds, popping them off in one piece.
- We started with the meat patty, as that was a simple round.
- I smiled and put a dozen hot kugel tarts, dense rounds of potato and salt and oil, to drain on a paper towel near her.
Synonyms circle, disc, circlet ring, hoop, band ball, sphere, globe, orb, bead technical annulus - 1.1 A thick disc of beef cut from the haunch as a joint.
Example sentencesExamples - Nutrient composition data are available for four lean cuts of bison: rib-eye, clod, top round and top sirloin.
- Take a round of fresh beef (or the half of one if it is very large) and remove the bone.
- I would appreciate some information on how to cook an inside round of beef using a slow cook method.
2An act of visiting a number of people or places in turn. she did the rounds of her family to say goodbye Example sentencesExamples - He is making the rounds of all the mystery conventions, taking bows for his long and prosperous career, which may be winding down a bit after all these years.
- From there it was easy sneaking past the random guards making their rounds through the mansion.
- His first night on the job the old night watchman gives him a tour, showing Martin the rounds he must make.
- As he did his rounds, he was enjoined to try a piece of pie here, have some cider there, some roast meat, some cake.
- I made the rounds of the cabin to see if any of the guys wanted to come with me and Dutchie.
- They had slipped away for a week in the Lake District, made the rounds of London society arm in arm.
- Intrigued, and in no particular rush I decided to talk to her before making my rounds of the town.
- Guards patrolled the floor around the grate, one of them made his round through the grate-lifting room, checking it frequently.
- For Dom, Kodak's capitulation proved to be the start of a busy round of newspaper and TV interviews for the IT contractor.
- I made the rounds visiting all my friends and the new exhibit of the Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection.
- When he was 20, Lewis made the rounds of Nashville's country career-makers.
- Rather than have a separate sales staff, Sun's 12,000 sales reps also will sell software on their rounds.
- Passing from room to room through a volley of slaps on the back, friendly kisses and a beer or two he did the rounds, drinking with friends and hiding from his family.
- Sara made the rounds of a few of the commands around the perimeter of the valley, attending to last-minute details.
- The patrollers generally made their rounds at night, with their activity and regularity differing according to time and place.
- He's been doing the rounds of the newspapers portraying himself as the victim of press intrusion into his private life, and discoursing on identity and being proud to be English.
- Many roads were damaged and the waste trucks were having a hard time making their rounds.
- An energetic round of theatre visits kept her in touch with the latest in dramatic writing and performance.
- He had put everything away in cupboards and drawers and he had not been back since the cleaning staff had made their rounds.
- In fact, the officer classes seem to have been engaged in a constant round of visits.
- 2.1 A regular tour of inspection in which the well-being of those visited is checked.
the doctor is just making his rounds in the wards Example sentencesExamples - The doctor is on his rounds now, and he can't waste any time.
- She glanced up and down the hallway, checking for night nurses making their rounds.
- Katherine forced herself to move and continue on her rounds, encouraging tired and listless men.
- The jingle of keys rings out as the guard makes his rounds.
- The other flight attendants continued making their rounds.
- When on his rounds in the African hospital, he had been known to look at some minor injury to a hand or foot and then utter the dread words, ‘That will have to come off!’
- Her own father was a local doctor who would take her with him on his rounds.
- For as long as I could remember Doc Harris had been making his rounds in his trap with Lady, the grey mare.
- That might include a doctor who takes her Tablet PC along for her morning rounds, an insurance agent, or even a package delivery person.
- The residence staff does sick rounds at six thirty, and the breakfast bell rings at seven.
Synonyms circuit, beat, course, route tour, turn - 2.2British A journey along a fixed route delivering goods as part of one's job or a job involving such journeys.
Example sentencesExamples - A local delivery driver tells the Graun that he's had to be towed out of the area three times in two weeks, and now keeps the engine running when he's on his rounds.
- My very first job was doing a bread delivery round for the Co-op for six months.
Synonyms route, way, course, journey
3Each of a sequence of sessions in a process, typically characterized by development between one session and another. the two sides held three rounds of talks Example sentencesExamples - Mandela believed agreement would be reached in the next, final round of negotiations in July.
- In a second round of personal interviews, participants recalled critical incidents of using information from the Web.
- Australia and Singapore have begun a second round of bilateral trade talks in Canberra, and are aiming to sign a free trade pact by the end of the year.
- The talks will be this year's third round of negotiations, and the 11 th overall.
- His first move will be to inject energy into the round of global trade negotiations that was launched last November in Doha, Qatar.
- A new round of global trade negotiations is moving closer to being launched, as the six-day ministerial meeting in Doha draws to a close.
- They held a third round of talks in Beijing last week.
- The six nations agreed to hold the next round of talks in early November in Beijing.
- It comes on the heels of a successful November launch of a new round of global trade talks.
- Individual politicians can never be held responsible for falling policies, due to the endless rounds of talks that precede decisions in which all parties, more or less have to agree in the end.
- Even more to the point, it makes you wonder how on earth it got past the usual film-industry round of development meetings and off the ground.
- Investment in education in general, and in particular school education would play a vital role in the next round of development.
- The senior officials have so far held three rounds of preparatory meetings this year.
Synonyms spell, period, time, stretch, stint, turn, run, session, cycle - 3.1 A division of a contest such as a boxing or wrestling match.
Example sentencesExamples - He looked tattered and damp, as if he'd just done ten rounds of mud wrestling.
- Haley and I sat on the swings, while Chad and Dominic continued their tiebreaker round of wrestling.
- Worse than that is when Taylor prevents the timekeeper from ending the round during the big fight.
- He and Jones knew each other from way back and had fought some close rounds as amateurs.
- I won one of the rounds, but she outscored me in the end.
Synonyms contest, match, heat, competition, tournament, event, meeting, meet, fixture, game - 3.2 Each of a succession of stages in a competition, in each of which more candidates are eliminated.
Example sentencesExamples - This is the first round where the contestants are partnerless.
- The tournament will have five rounds, one on the Thursday evening, two on the Friday (morning and evening), one on the Saturday and one on the Sunday.
- I didn't get past the second round so my last song was never performed.
- As many as twenty six rounds of negotiations were held between the Akali Dal and the government.
- In the first round of the play-offs they faced the Oakland Athletics.
- The first time he entered, he was eliminated after the first round.
- We feel sure that we've made it into the next round of the competition.
- Up to eighteen pianists will advance to the semifinal round, where each will present a program of no more than twenty minutes.
- It had been rather emotional for those groups that were eliminated in the second round.
- The women went into Sunday's playoff round pleased with their overall play.
- But all the same, it was a win and it guaranteed Wilson a spot in the next round.
- Shelbourne is the first Irish league team to reach the final qualifying round since the beginning of the competition.
- Five ‘semi-finalists’ were chosen to move into the second round of the demolition derby.
- The Warriors will face the host team from York this morning before moving on to tomorrow's elimination round.
- As mentioned last week, we still don't have a clear third place winner for this round of the contest.
- Town's passage follows that of Harrogate Railway Athletic, who also reached the third qualifying round 24 hours earlier.
- The competition consists of three rounds: preliminary, semi-final and final.
- In 2002 they reached the fourth round of the qualifiers against Kerry, and felt like they had finally arrived.
- After that, we'll play in the first round of the conference tournament.
Synonyms stage, level heat, game, lap, bout, contest - 3.3 An act of playing all the holes in a golf course once.
Eileen enjoys the occasional round of golf Example sentencesExamples - The lead seesawed between the two of them for much of the round, before John went ahead to stay after the 16th hole of the round.
- They will play four rounds of golf in one day.
- Anyone who has played a round of golf will know how delays can frustrate anyone's best day on the links.
- Although he was about to turn 90, he looked trim and fit and boasted he had just returned from a robust round of golf at a nearby course.
- Once the round of golf is over, the brothers can relax in the hotel's leisure complex.
- A round of gold at Erinvale Golf Course, at the foothills of the Helderberg Mountains, is unmissable.
- I like to play a round of golf, to potter around the garden, and visit markets.
- So much business has been conducted over a round of golf that it's almost cliche.
- A horse riding excursion through the New Forest can also be arranged as can a round of golf on the nine-hole course or on one of the ten nearby courses.
- One weekend, a group of friends decide that they aren't going to play the usual round of golf.
- We play the last round of the reunion tour golf championship.
- They just showed up once a quarter for a round of golf and a casual perusal of the books.
- It's perfect for kids - or kids at heart who don't have time to play a full 18-hole round.
- The Old Head is one of the most expensive courses in Ireland: green fees are €250 for a round of golf.
- The trips involved an overnight stay, a meal and a round of golf.
- Brennan said that while most GPs like to think they are not being influenced, the reality was that a meal or a round of golf did influence their choices.
- In certain instances students met with their industry mentors while playing a round of golf.
- He had been to the club, got in a round of golf, had an excellent buffet breakfast, and then headed home.
- The Scot began yesterday's round with a par that gave no indication of what was to come.
- But he is also described as a ‘personable’ guy who enjoys a round of golf and a drink.
4A regularly recurring sequence of activities. their lives were a daily round of housework and laundry Example sentencesExamples - Festivities at Christmas, Easter, and May Day, at the end of ploughing and the completion of harvest, relieved the monotony of the daily round of labor.
- She is doing a little royal work and doing it well, but will not take on a full-time round of royal engagements.
- Because my memory is so terrible, sometimes I want to write about a certain part of the daily round so I won't forget about it.
- For expats, life's an endless round of parties.
Synonyms succession, sequence, series, cycle - 4.1 A set of drinks bought for all the members of a group, typically as part of a sequence in which each member in turn buys such a set.
Example sentencesExamples - We park ourselves at the bar and order another round of drinks.
- She can't go blabbing out secrets after the third round of drinks.
- She distracted Annie from more questions by ordering around round of drinks for everyone.
- Hopefully, one of them will buy the first round of drinks.
- He walked smoothly towards the bar to get another round of drinks.
- One group had gone through a couple of rounds of pints in the time that it had taken him to get served.
- Betty walked over to give Jess and Phoebe their next round of drinks.
- Anyone joining a group of drinkers immediately buys a round of drinks for everyone at the table.
- They called over the bartender and ordered a round of beers.
- Another round of drinks and she was stumbling around with the rest of them.
- Whenever someone has money, they invite their friends to go out to a neighborhood bar for a round of drinks.
- After a few more rounds of drinks, I began to get lightheaded and figured I'd better stop drinking.
- Buying a round of drinks can get pretty steep sometimes.
- I'll even promise a round of drinks for the staff the next time I'm in London.
- We order a round of drinks and then I head out to the dance floor.
- Though she wasn't drinking anything harder than mineral water, Isabelle took her turn in buying a round of drinks.
- Andrew was at the bar, ordering a round of drinks for them all.
- I went over to them and said, ‘I apologise’, and I bought them a round of drinks.
- After the revolution, newly hired workers no longer had to buy a round of drinks for their mates, and they no longer drank in honor of their bosses.
- After a few rounds of the sugary drink, the girls got quite giggly and decided that what we really needed was a game of Truth or Dare.
5Music A song for three or more unaccompanied voices or parts, each singing the same theme but starting one after another, at the same pitch or in octaves; a simple canon. Example sentencesExamples - The a cappella style of vocals that sit on top of each other is like listening to a band whose main musical influences are the playground rhymes and infant school rounds rather than actual songs.
- Their older brothers and sisters performed the Jewish song Shalom Chaverim, sung as a round.
- The same loop has been started at different times on each monitor, in the manner of a ceaseless musical round, or canon.
- We sang songs in rounds, back and forth with our own echoes.
- Its ancestry is in the madrigal, the round, the glee (which fostered numerous glee clubs), and the partsong.
6British A slice of bread. Example sentencesExamples - Frightened, they ran away but returned shortly after to the soldier with a loaf of rye bread and a round of white bread.
- Too lazy to wait for another round of bread to toast, he cheekily pinched a slice of Josh's from out of the toaster, hurriedly spreading butter across it before he noticed.
- 6.1 The quantity of sandwiches made from two slices of bread.
Example sentencesExamples - Refuelling at lunchtime consisted of rounds of scrumptious sandwiches and cake, with tea and coffee on tap.
- We wound up the day around six o'clock with a round of sandwiches on the front porch.
- Kait and Pete had another round of sandwiches.
7The amount of ammunition needed to fire one shot. the gun can fire 30 rounds a second Example sentencesExamples - In the initial 30 seconds I would say that a hundred rounds were fired at the crowd.
- His father fired a few rounds into the plastic dummy.
- Then, suddenly, there is a different sound - the gut-churning crack of live rounds being fired.
- We shot several rounds of high-explosive ammunition into the area.
- Insurgents spotted the jam and launched three mortar rounds.
- In 1885, Maxim developed a single-barrel weapon that could fire 500 rounds of ammunition a minute.
- This was a large calibre assault rifle which could fire up to 1200 rounds per minute.
- I have been to a gun club and I have fired off rounds for kicks.
- The directional pad is used for zooming in on targets, and the trigger buttons fire rounds of ammunition.
- The rate of fire for the gun was 250-300 rounds per minute.
- All the men were dressed in fatigues, and carried side arms and carried a number of rounds for the side arms as well as the rifles that they carried.
- The 8th Air Force had fired 99 million rounds of ammunition during these flights and it is thought that 20,000 German planes were destroyed.
- Three hand grenades, four revolvers, one rifle and 150 rounds of ammunition had been found.
- You can even attempt to subdue a suspect by flashing your badge or firing a couple of rounds into the air in hopes of scaring the sucker into compliance.
- What impresses them is if I go out to my balcony in the middle of the night and fire off three rounds from my rifle.
- Julie raised her gun and fired off a few rounds at the men above.
- So she angled the gun around the corner and fired several rounds before she heard the man go down.
- The pilot directs the vehicle, and the gunner has a full 360° control of the turret which can either fire machine gun rounds, or mortars.
- From a distance of about six feet, he aims the shotgun at Danny's side and fires off a round.
- My gun snapped up, and I squeezed off a quick burst of silenced rounds even before his gun was halfway up.
Synonyms bullet, cartridge, shell, shot - 7.1Archery A fixed number of arrows shot from a fixed distance.
Example sentencesExamples - She did a whole round of arrows, perfect shots every single time - straight to the bull's eye.
adverb raʊndraʊnd British 1So as to rotate or cause rotation; with circular motion. a plane circled round overhead she turned her glass round and round Example sentencesExamples - You are like a rudderless ship; you go round and round in circles.
- I twisted the knob round slowly, quietly; carefully - I pulled the door towards me and ran out.
- A 3 day road trip could turn into a 3 year road trip because you would take us round and round in circles.
- Her mind had gone round and round in the same circles, formulating plans and then dismissing them.
- If, like me, you have no interest whatsoever in watching horses run round in a circle, don't worry, the film is really about the community and its infectious passion for this event.
- She plopped the fish back in the clean water where they swam round and round, looking puzzled.
- Alex twirled round in a circle, trying to figure out which bus she was meant to be on.
- We seemed to spend the majority of the evening going round and round in circles.
- Placing them back in their case, I closed my eyes and began to rub my temples, round and round in a steady and gentle circular motion.
- One stupid thought kept going round and round in my mind.
- The question went round and round in my head until I had exhausted all other options.
- Red and purple hangings hung from gold walls, and the dancers twirled round and round.
- Do you want me to drive round in circles or are you going to direct me to your house?
- 1.1 So as to cover or take in the whole area surrounding a particular centre.
she paused to glance round admiringly at the décor Example sentencesExamples - He looked round appreciatively at his comfortable modern flat.
- Mark puts the phone down and glances round to take another look at the apartment.
- I explained the lay out of The Old Loom Mill and left everyone to walk round at their own pace.
- Amy peered round at the vast landscape surrounding her and held her fingers to her nose to block the awful stench of rotting corpses.
- She glanced round for a way out, frowning as she realised there wasn't one.
- 1.2 So as to reach everyone in a particular group or area.
he passed round a newspaper cutting Example sentencesExamples - Now the hubble-bubble pipes are being passed round, and al-Madfai changes direction yet again.
- Thumping drum and bass booms out, then cans of cider are passed round.
- After the traditional toasts to Church and Queen and the ancient house, a drinking horn used for the purpose ever since the college was founded was passed round as a loving cup.
- As the jugs of wine were passed round and the atmosphere grew more ribald, Bligh wondered if this was just going to be some kind of orgy.
2So as to rotate and face in the opposite direction. he swung round to face her Example sentencesExamples - He swung round to investigate, only to be greeted with a ‘twang’ and a sudden intense pain in his arm that knocked him to the ground.
- He suddenly gasped, he gasped so loud that the whole class turned round to face him.
- Lara swung round to face her oppressors.
- Swinging her bag onto her back, she turned round and stomped off.
- He helped the frightened man back on his feet, and then turned round.
- Porter turned us round without looking to the woman by his side.
- He swung his legs round, and slid slowly into the long grass, which came up to his knees.
- Margaret turned round to walk alongside of the girl in her feeble progress homeward.
- Desiree laughed then turned round heading back to the rooms.
- I turned round to look at everyone who had now sat down, and saw traces of jealousy drain from Jacob's face and turn back to a grin.
- Jo gave a smile and turned round.
- Hearing footsteps behind her, she got to her feet and turned round.
- I turned round and saw Steve walking up to us, still with that same helpful smile on his face.
- I sighed, and swung my legs round, sitting up on the edge of the bed.
- My voice was small, but everyone turned round and she had no choice but to acknowledge me.
- The ship swings round before its engines power up and it heads off.
- He spun round, startled, then grabbed me in a bear hug.
- I whirl round to see Shaun standing several feet away from me, smiling that insidious smile of his.
- Turning round I saw a young teen hooker drugged to her eyeballs working the street at three in the afternoon.
- I stopped her and swung her round to give her a full on kiss.
- 2.1 So as to lead in another direction.
it was the last house before the road curved round Example sentencesExamples - To give a sense of enclosure, and to avoid the long back rows common to most fan-shaped auditoria, the rear wall is brought round in a wide curve, embracing the audience.
- The path twisted round and round for what felt like an eternity.
- The way the site curves round to embrace the harbour with a view back across the town seemed to offer an ideal position.
- The track bent round to run alongside the river.
- He guided me with a hand on my back, towards the path at the side of the house that ran round to the back garden.
- 2.2 Used in describing the position of something, typically with regard to the direction in which it is facing or its relation to other items.
the picture shows the pieces the wrong way round Example sentencesExamples - Will you please not email me to tell me the pics above are the wrong way round.
- I turn arrows and street signs the wrong way round and chuckle at the thought of people getting lost.
- If you connect an LED the wrong way round it won't kill it - it just wont produce any light.
- He did as he was told, closing the door and relaxing a little, sitting on the chair the wrong way round and leaning on the back.
- 2.3 Used to describe a situation in terms of the relation between people, actions, or events.
it was he who was attacking her, not the other way round Example sentencesExamples - She has criticised the whole modern theory of human rights as being conceived the wrong way round.
- With public relations people, it is the other way round.
- This is surely tackling the issue the wrong way round.
3So as to surround someone or something. a pool with banks all the way round Example sentencesExamples - The coffin was then carried into the yard by four men and everyone gathered round.
- Once the warm-up was finished, Mr. Christian told them to gather round in a circle while he passed out the names.
- He reached out an arm and pulled her close to him, slipping back under the covers and wrapping them round them both.
- Filming with a mini camera quickly brought a good-natured crowd of local residents flocking round, proud of their remarkable monument.
- I found myself in the garden of the farm-house, an orchard in the centre and flowerbeds all round.
- 3.1 Used in stating the girth of something.
the trunk is nine feet round Example sentencesExamples - It is twenty hundred feet round and has a Plexiglas ring going around it.
- About 20 feet round and extending up and down seemingly forever, it neatly severed the bridge.
4So as to reach a new place or position, typically by moving to the other side of something. he made his way round to the back of the building they went the long way round by the main road Example sentencesExamples - Heaving another sigh, he jogged down the stairs to the lobby of the venue and made his way across to the side door which would lead him round to the backstage.
- Jamie walked round to the passenger side and got in.
- I turned and held my wrists out to the guard, which he obligingly cuffed for me before leading me round into another corridor, and the interrogation rooms.
- She walked round to the other side of the bucket and, grinning, knelt down opposite.
- He walked round to the drivers side and got in.
- I took the horse straight round to the changing area at the back.
- It bent to the left, sharply and I followed the walls round until I reached what I had been looking for, the docking bays.
- I remembered there being one down by the reception, so I took the next corridor that would lead me round in that direction.
- The fat guy was already moving round to the hatch.
- He moved round to the other side and opened the door, offering his hand to Misha to help her climb down.
- I had to go the long way round because a surprise was being set up for the party which was going to be held in the hall.
- Go round to the other side and go down the hidden passage.
- As soon as the coast was clear, I left the alcove and walked back round to the front door, slowly.
- 4.1 Used to convey an ability to navigate or orientate oneself.
I like pupils to find their own way round Example sentencesExamples - A rehabilitation plan was devised with a particular emphasis on teaching Jonathon the skills necessary to find his way round independently in unfamiliar places.
- Do you know your way round yet?
- 4.2informal Used to convey the idea of visiting someone else.
why don't you come round to my flat? Example sentencesExamples - She loved to make them angry by bringing her friends round for meals at her house.
- If it's being played at a party, how does it know if you're taking money at the door, rather than just having a few friends round?
- ‘It's just that you could bring her round this evening, if you like,’ he offered.
- If you can't bear to miss the football or that chick flick you've always wanted to see, go watch it round at a friend's house.
- Jenny had invited everyone round to her house that evening.
- If I halve this by drinking a little less and having friends round for drinks more often, I could save.
5Used to suggest idle and purposeless motion or activity. he was driving round aimlessly Example sentencesExamples - I just wandered round really and eventually parked myself in a bar and drank coffee.
- I don't know what you think you're doing anyway, mooching round here.
- We have spent a very hot afternoon walking round and taking pics.
- I walked round a bit and immediately fell for the city.
6So as to give support and companionship. if one girl is distraught the others will rally round Example sentencesExamples - And if any of them finds himself in trouble, his old schoolmates will be expected to rally round in support.
- A Hampshire Internet Service Provider is looking for others to rally round and support a complaint it's made.
- And we are hoping other companies rally round and make it a trend.
preposition raʊndraʊnd British 1On every side of (a focal point) the area round the school with shifting sands all round me Example sentencesExamples - Seeing as his friend was obviously unable to think with so much clamor round him, Everett led the way through the jumbled desks.
- All were seated around a large table that had just enough seats to fit everyone round it.
- A mix of uses is replacing the industrial area round the river port.
- The river drains into swampy areas round Lake Bangweulu.
- Emma shook her head and continued to stare down at the crowd gathered round the house.
- There were two tiers on seating that ran round the edge of the room encircling the open space in the centre.
- Then I lit the candle and held the stick of sealing-wax in the flame, letting the red drops fall round the bottle cap until it was tightly sealed.
- Once they had, they huddled round a small table in the corner and began to make their way through their lunch which they had journeyed ten minutes for.
- These objects he arranges round the rim of a protective circle he has drawn on the ground.
- The visitor passes through one of the rooms into the central part of the house, arranged round a garden with a colonnaded portico fronting a series of formal rooms.
- ‘A very ugly old woman, with red rims round her eyes’, Mrs Brown deals in rags and bones in a small way.
- They formed a circle round me, not a good thing, and one I shifted to avoid.
- Dark circles were apparent round his eyes, as if he suffered from insomnia.
- Her lipstick has bled into the soft skin round her mouth.
- Hordes of urchins had gathered round Hobson as he left the church.
- They gathered round the mother to comfort her.
- Kiosks swarm round every underpass, Metro entrance and train station, selling anything from food and alcohol to pirated CD-ROMs and stereo components.
- Tim was whipped away from the scene by the teacher's calling, and he, as well as the rest of the class, lined up in a circle round the tall and lean Mr. Khan.
- We took our seats round a garden table placed to catch the warming sun.
- Even the birds liked this newcomer, as they circled round it, chirping happily.
Synonyms around, about, encircling, enclosing near, in the neighbourhood of, in the vicinity of, in the area of orbiting - 1.1 (of something abstract) having (the thing mentioned) as a focus.
the text is built round real practical examples Example sentencesExamples - That book centred round one field trip to the islands.
- His analysis here is focused round the capitalist ‘commodity’.
- Legends accumulated round his name: he was supposed to work miracles, controlling the winds and raising the dead, and to have met his death plunging into the crater of Etna.
- The film is based round real events.
2So as to encircle (someone or something) he wrapped the blanket round him she drew a red circle round his name Example sentencesExamples - Adam found another blanket and draped it round the empty eyed woman's shoulders.
- ‘Guess who’ said a voice which sounded as sweet as honey to Alex as two hands wrapped round his eyes from behind.
- Erin was quiet for a long minute, winding the blanket round her fingers.
- He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped the blanket round her shoulders.
- Thompson is preparing a rope and grapple line, fixing it round a sturdy-looking rock near the entrance to the cave.
- I tear off a long strip and wind it round Leo's wounded shoulder.
- This example would have been worn on a chain round the neck, proudly displayed like an order or badge of loyalty.
- I sighed against his mouth, my arms circling round his neck.
- She lay there, with one arm creeping round a bar of the iron gate, and seeming to embrace it.
- He hasn't shaved, and the yellow t-shirt he's wearing is tied round his navel to reveal a hairy, skinny belly.
- She drew herself up, knees pulled up to her chest, chin resting on them, arms wrapped round her shins, curled up into a tight, defensive ball.
- On the way to see it, he saw a poster on the tube somewhere with a circle drawn round the head of the relevant person.
- Dale immediately shook off his jacket and wrapped it round Tiffany while staring at me.
- He wrapped a black rope round the man's neck.
- He wrapped it round her arm in a makeshift bandage.
- He put the jacket round Mel's shoulders and she started to slide her arms into it.
- He reached over and gently wrapped the blanket round her.
- Some men try to tie a noose round the neck of the statue, but nothing happens.
- He had on a navy blue suit that really suited him, with a plain red tie knotted round his neck.
- I needed a big circle for my cover idea so I drew round a suitably sized plate.
- 2.1 (of a person's arm or arms) partially encircling (another person) as a gesture of affection.
Angus put an arm round Flora and kissed her Example sentencesExamples - She gave me a dazzling smile and we walked to the bathroom together, and after making sure it was empty she grabbed me, and our lips met, our arms round each other.
- Eventually we lay giggling in the grass with our arms round each other.
- They stood in the middle of the canteen, arms round each other and heads held close together.
- Ollie put his arms gently round Jean's shuddering body and lightly kissed the top of her head.
- Isabelle throws her arms round her daughter and the pair stay there for a while, just crying.
- ‘You're crazy,’ I laughed, flicking his hair out his eyes affectionately as he put his arm round my shoulder.
- We wrapped our arms round each other and swayed, our bodies moving as one.
- He flung an arm round Wilfred's shoulder, completely oblivious to his friend's shy embarrassment.
- Sean put his arm round Chelsea, and they cuddled close, their baby fast asleep in Chelsea's arms.
- Lisa and Ashley leave with their arms round each other.
- The redhead beamed and flung both arms round his brother.
- He puts his arm round my waist and I let it stay, thankful for the support.
- They rose simultaneously and Andrew put a comforting arm round his wife to guide her but she pulled away from him.
- She put her arm gently round Carrie's shoulders and practically shut the door in Adam's face, so he and Hoss headed off to the polling booths.
- Walking over to him she put her arm round him and slowly led him away.
- Without really thinking about it, I put my arm round Lennie's shoulder and gave him a hug.
- He drove with one hand, his other arm round the girl.
- She put her arm round her girlfriend and they laughed.
- He bowed slightly, put an arm round the two children, then turned towards the door.
- We lay on her bed with our arms round each other and just talked and kissed till way past 2.
3Following an approximately circular route past (a corner or obstacle) a bus appeared round the corner Example sentencesExamples - After Alexander conquered the city, he had Batis tied to a chariot and dragged round the city's walls until he died an excruciating death.
- Quickly, he led us outside, and round the corner.
- Without another word, Stephanie opens the door and strides round the car to walk up the front steps.
- The guards followed and chased them round a corner.
- The bus sped round the corner.
- He first came across a wild boar 14 years ago, when his wife had to swerve round one in the road.
- Lydia crept round the corner.
- He jogged round the other side of the car and jumped in and started the engine.
- The major trade routes were sea lanes round England.
- He fished his keys out of his pocket and made his way round the other side of the car, unlocking the driver's door.
- He carried on round the corner of the hotel and then accelerated away down the other half of the loop.
- Working his way round the side of the house, he finally found the perfect spot to enter, the windows were dark, the rooms unoccupied above and below.
- He sways from side to side as he pretends to take the car round a sharp bend, and then the next one.
- She attempted to run round him but his reach was too long.
- Once, after boasting how little petrol his car used to go round the mountain, a crowd of people turned out asking Sam to prove it.
- We were going to do it at a part of the road where he couldn't just swerve round us.
- She ran round the side to go in by the back entrance.
- As I walked round the outside of the church, I found the bell-ringers of 1985 doing exactly what Skinner had complained of in 1825.
- A thin line of smoke started to spiral up from the ruptured engine as Ian scrambled round the back of the car, catching his trouser leg on the crumpled rear bumper.
- Soon summer came and Ian cycled almost every day (although never again round his previous route past the shops and up the hill).
- 3.1 On the other side of (a corner or obstacle)
Steven parked the car round the corner Example sentencesExamples - A store round the corner sells a 2.4GHz laptop with Windows XP for CAN $1139.
- Why hop around the world for something when it might be round the corner?
- We used to have a skate park round the corner from our place in Manchester.
- He leant against the small bench and waited for Callum to return from round the corner.
- Just round the corner is a Chinese Restaurant.
- I glance around nervously but the car park is round the back of the warehouse and everything seems fairly deserted.
- He noticed another soldier round the corner.
- You run the youth group at the school round the corner.
- She catches up with them just round the block.
- No major UK economists are predicting a recession round the corner.
- The house was round the corner from Lady Isabella Finch's house, 44 Berkeley Square, which had recently been built by William Kent.
- He had a studio round the corner called Biograph, and I went for a job with him as a runner.
- The general election is just round the corner, and the Labour party is still wittering on about ID cards.
- Then there's the girl in the shop round the corner who you keep popping out to get a glimpse of, but you're still married.
- No worries - there's a lovely Chinese just round the corner.
- There's a great place called ‘AK 47’ which is just round the corner from me and they put on punk gigs on a regular basis.
- The Italian confirmed the target's house, and turning round, the driver pulled in and waited round the corner.
- It was a really nice place, the bar wasn't in the main building, but had an entrance of its own round the corner.
- Five o'clock came and we met Lawrence round the corner from the kitchen.
- He got up and ran over to a water dispenser round the corner from the main desk.
- 3.2 So as to hit (something) in passing.
if he didn't shut up he might get a clip round the ear Example sentencesExamples - Alternatively - as my wife has just reminded me with a firm clip round the ear - Michel could just leave her chest as God intended and find someone to love her as she is.
- He is in dire need of a pretty good clip round the ear.
- Eventually Conan wrestled Clarence to the ground and boxed him round the ears, making Clarence's head swim.
4So as to cover or take in the whole area of (a place) she went round the house and saw that all the windows were barred Example sentencesExamples - Another thing which she had not done for some time, Wendy realized as she rattled round the empty house on Saturday morning, was try out Pete's latest composing aid.
- However I am immensely relieved to see that they are well-behaved and have a guide taking them round the gallery.
- Some of us have gone round Britain speaking at meetings to get solidarity.
- "We were hopeful when we were going round Walcot canvassing, " he said.
- Alex ran round the house looking for his shoes.
- Matthew followed her gaze round the restaurant before meeting her eyes.
- Kari was working for her mom, showing a newly wed couple round a few houses in downtown San Diego.
- They spoke a little to each other and then the lady took Lord Arnor's arm and they gazed round the company on the boat together.
- Ever switched on the radio and found yourself dancing round the house?
- He started sleepwalking and shuffled round the house at night.
- She walked aimlessly round the room, keeping a wide circle about him, not knowing what she was looking for.
- Every time Katy left her with him, she'd head straight for the back room, then wander round the house with a puzzled unhappy look on her face.
- He chased me round and round the place with a clasp knife.
- He gestured round the tiny kitchen where they had sat and breakfasted together each day for all those months.
- Looking blearily round the room for my alarm clock, I finally focus on the glowing green numbers on the nightstand.
- It's a bit like listening to a pre-recorded guide through headsets on the way round a museum.
- When I travelled round Australia it was to schools mainly.
- Certainly, as British imperial influence spread round the world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, so too did British aesthetics.
- She has to drive him round the countryside and keep him happy.
- Sometimes they come in busloads and make it upstairs for a cup of tea before being personally guided round the garden or through the museum.
Synonyms throughout, all over, here and there in, everywhere in
verb raʊndraʊnd [with object]1Pass and go round (something) so as to move on in a changed direction. the ship rounded the cape and sailed north Example sentencesExamples - By the end of the third day, the ship had rounded the cape.
- He looked up at Emily, who was now rounding the table towards him.
- A moment later, the vehicle appeared, rounding a curve up ahead.
- They rounded a bend and saw pale light at the end of the vent.
- Through the kitchen door, I see her round the bottom of the stairs and lean against the banister.
- She moved through an office door and rounded the corner to the employee lounge.
- As we rounded a curve, a truck weaved halfway into our lane.
- The older couple glanced at them all, then proceeded down the corridor, rounding the corner as they walked to the elevators.
- He dribbled past three French players, before rounding the goalkeeper to score.
- Jack and Angela rounded the corner three blocks away from their houses.
- Johnson wrapped the game up when he beat the offside trap and rounded the keeper.
- They passed the great papyrus swamps the next day and rounded the point which marked the edge of the Canopus mouth of the Nile.
- There was something willowy in the way she swung her slender hips the slightest bit as she rounded a table.
- As I rounded yet another bend in the road, the wind picked up.
- The soldiers rounded the corner and stopped in front of the party.
- Turning to the street, he saw another cab rounding the corner.
- Then the carriage began to move, and he lost sight of her as they rounded a bend.
- Another group of policemen round a corner to find a car alarm blaring and a window smashed, with the cause of the mayhem nowhere to be found.
- ‘Remember if you need anything, just ask Christa,’ he called to Jared before rounding the house.
- We rounded the curve, and the corridor came to an abrupt halt.
Synonyms go round, move round, travel round, sail round, circumnavigate orbit skirt 2Alter (a number) to one less exact but more convenient for calculations. we'll round the weight up to the nearest kilo the committee rounded down the figure Example sentencesExamples - Round the result to the nearest 10 points (numbers ending in 5 are rounded upwards).
- Oracle wants customers to multiply the number of processors cores in a system by .75 and then round up to the next whole number regardless of the fraction.
- Converting to inches and rounding up, footing dimensions of 14 X 14 inches will be adequate.
- Thus, using this value is a bit like rounding off your own weight to the nearest hundred pounds.
- Under the act, prices for such items as television licences and permits have to be rounded down to the nearest convenient amount below the exact euro equivalent.
- We rounded down, so the worst loss is also the net loss.
- In writing down the score, all scores are divided by 10 with fractions rounded down.
- It was prespecified that stock market figures would be rounded up or down as appropriate.
- Income and gains should be rounded down to the nearest pound, while tax credits and deductions should be rounded up to the nearest pound.
- What pure scientific purpose is served by rounding the number up to 100,000?
- This bracket will be rounded down to the nearest $50 for joint returns and head of household returns.
3Give a round shape to. a lathe that rounded chair legs Example sentencesExamples - To deepen the stretch, slowly extend arms and round spine forward, letting the weight of the torso fall forward.
- 3.1no object Become circular in shape.
her eyes rounded in dismay Example sentencesExamples - ‘What do you mean?’ she asked, her blue eyes, rounding in question.
- I muttered under my breath, my almond shaped eyes rounding to replicate saucers.
- 3.2Phonetics Pronounce (a vowel) with the lips narrowed and protruded.
the actor's uneven attempt to round the vowels of his midwestern twang Example sentencesExamples - Most Australians can achieve this accent by ‘rounding the vowels’ and concentrating on speaking ‘properly’.
- She speaks very fast, with a Spanish accent that rounds her vowels.
- If he rounds his vowels a bit more his accent will drop.
Usage Are round and around (as preposition and adverbial particle) interchangeable in all contexts? In many contexts in British English they are, as in she put her arm round him; she put her arm around him. There is, however, a general preference for round to be used for definite, specific movement (she turned round; a bus came round the corner), while around tends to be used in contexts which are less definite (she wandered around for ages; costing around £3,000) or for abstract uses (a rumour circulating around the cocktail bars). In US English the situation is different. The normal form in most contexts is around; round is generally regarded as informal or non-standard and is only standard in certain fixed expressions, as in all year round and they went round and round in circles Phrases (of a story or joke) be passed on from person to person. some odd stories about her were going the rounds Example sentencesExamples - However, there are also contrary rumors going the rounds.
- There was, inevitably, a lot of gossip going the rounds, mostly amongst the wives.
- There was another story going the rounds, concerning Don Venus.
- I'd like to know because it was certainly a story that went the rounds among schoolboys in my day.
- There was a story going the rounds about one of the European shift bosses who was invited to the Lewises for lunch, to sample one of Jane's home made Cornish pasties.
- The latest Churchill story going the rounds has to do with a stuffy young Foreign Office secretary who had the job of ‘vetting’ the then Prime Minister's magnificent speeches.
- A story went the rounds of one agent who went to a café and asked for a café noir - this was a mistake, because a café noir was the only kind available, milk being rationed, and his ‘cover’ was blown.
- However if only half of what is going the rounds right now has even a semblance of credence to it then it would seem that there are problems to be ironed out.
- However, a rumour went the rounds in November 1870 that he had recently married.
- The stories of intimidation and straightforward fraud are still going the rounds.
Synonyms spread, be passed around, get around, go the rounds
1(of sculpture) standing free with all sides shown, rather than carved in relief against a ground. Example sentencesExamples - Standing just 36 cm high, and carved in the round, the model for the Queen Charlotte's figurehead is a tour de force of the woodcarver's art, although its maker's name is as yet unknown.
- The turn from relief to sculpture in the round led to radical changes in his work.
- Also carved in the round is a seated female figure just over one inch in height.
- They are not sculpture in the round, but the pieces can be viewed from either side.
- Whether in reliefs or figures carved in the round, he achieved dramatic expression of emotion through the intense faces, emphatic gestures, and cascading draperies of his figures.
- 1.1Fully and thoroughly; with all aspects shown.
to understand social phenomena one must see them in the round Example sentencesExamples - The governments in the past have not had much of an appetite for dealing with things in the round.
- However, the person's conduct must also be considered in context and in the round.
- The process must be viewed in the round, and not on a pupil by pupil basis, and chambers may well see an advantage in developing close relationships with pupils who plan to practise as employed barristers or to practise overseas.
- The adjudicator must look at all of the material in the round and see whether he is persuaded of the claim.
- Taken in the round, this project has shown that sustainable farming really can work, even in the most hostile conditions.
- The question of exceptional circumstances must therefore be considered in the round.
- But where there is any element of ambiguity the inquiry must look at all relevant facts and circumstances in the round.
- All the evidence should have been looked at in the round.
- When taken in the round, then, it is clear that the case for small farms is a strong one, and must be made loudly and persistently if the rural economy is to change for the better.
- His worldly-wise, amused, delicately cynical narrators observe characters in the round, identifying qualities that edify but which are muddied by foibles, peccadilloes, and, once in a while, mortal sins.
2(of a theatrical performance) with the audience placed on at least three sides of the stage. Example sentencesExamples - The play was done in the company's Bingham Theatre, which is in the round, the hardest kind of space for a stage director to work in.
- The opera will be performed in the round, in two acts with an hour-long interval to allow for picnics on the lawn or a stroll through the gardens of the Georgian mansion.
- Because of the vagaries of Irish weather the opera is performed in a five hundred-seater marquee with a central stage, making it opera in the round.
- Some of the ballets were designed to be danced in the round, and that is incredible training for a dancer.
- Theatre, in the round, is not my favourite venue for an evening's entertainment but, after last night, I begin to realise how effective it can be when it is under control of a man who knows how to handle it to its maximum advantage
- Like most plays, it loses by being presented in the round.
- This show would be fun when seated in the round, in a smaller space, with a drink in hand.
- Theatre in the round, opera in the park and lunchtime concerts in the workplace are all examples of venues that can transform and regenerate the whole experience of performance.
- The director presented one of the few instances in my life where theatre in the round has succeeded.
- Played in the round and without an interval, it is harrowing but it is also a totally engrossing piece of theatre.
1On all sides or in all directions. everything round about was covered with snow Example sentencesExamples - Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the side of thine house; thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
- He promptly erected an altar from the stones round about, then dedicated the fat, entrails and head of the stag to Artemis and burned the animal as a holocaust.
- Now they are crowded round about us, trying to get a grandstand view.
- Already he could clearly discern the treetops round about him; but it was in vain that his eye sought the view of the old brown church tower and the weather-worn roofs.
- Outside the Asian school, waiting to pick up the consul's children, he feels the street go still, the shops round about go dead.
- They have set up night schools in villages round about to offer education suitable for rural life, rather than the alien curriculum offered by official schools.
- Pray, Mrs. Tremlett, do you know any thing about the factory people that work in all these great ugly buildings round about Ashleigh?
- He was no hearty admirer of the Cambridge landscape - in the poem he avoids it with some ingenuity and confines himself to the names of the villages round about.
- Besides these, there are the urban and suburban wanderers, or those who follow some itinerant occupation in and round about the large towns.
- Alternatively, the hill forts may have been community storage facilities for grain and livestock, a trading centre, and perhaps a ritual focus, with the important people living round about.
2At a point or time approximately equal to. they arrived round about nine compasses were first added to sundials round about the end of the fourteenth century Example sentencesExamples - We're also getting a significant amount of money from industry, probably round about the same as the government's putting in, $20-million or so.
- Bringing in round about $2m annually, tourism has contributed the most to the economy's scant prosperity.
- It was round about this time that Haydn was able to see some of his works which he praised highly, citing the young composer as an ‘outstanding talent’.
- Some of the reviewers when the book appeared seemed to find evidence for a sudden conversion round about 1934, but his disgust for earthly things is displayed over and over again in his early novels.
- On their third dive, round about 3pm, they headed off together and were last spotted swimming calmly 12m down.
- If any such deal is in the offing, expect it round about the time shareholders need an extra boost.
- I set the hotel clock to wake us up round about 7 ‘o’ clock.
- He has often been supposed to be the ‘Fair Youth’ of Shakespeare's Sonnets, most of which may well have been written round about 1593-6, though they may have been revised and reordered around 1602.
- If you take a trip down to Cornwall round about now you'll find that many of the county's resorts and tourist attractions, far from suffering a foot and mouth-induced tourist drain, are flourishing.
- The telephone rang at round about half-past three in the morning.
Synonyms approximately, about, around, roughly, in the neighbourhood of, in the area of, of the order of, just about, something like, more or less, as near as dammit to, close to, near to, practically - 2.1Approximately.
we raised round about half a million dollars round about 10,000 homes were affected Example sentencesExamples - The backlog of claims, I think, is down to round about 10,000.
- Round about 1.35 million sheep were exported or moved during the month of February.
- The limiting factor is clearly the interface but at round about 1GB per minute, the transfer speed is reasonable.
- By comparison for example, the hydrocarbon business is growing at round about 2% per annum.
- The amount the government spends on the NHS is round about two-thirds of that in France and Germany and half of what the USA spends, as a percentage of our national income.
- He replied that the Government was increasing investment "by round about half-a-billion pounds over the next few years".
- They have been made what we think is a generous offer, round about a ten per cent increase in pay over two years.
- Only round about seven per cent of those who have horses or have access to horses ride to hounds.
- For the same car, but with circa 40k on the clock, you'd be looking at round about 24k from a dealer, but I'd be inclined to try to push that down a bit.
- The budget that the Commissioner manages is round about £2.5 billion.
- The total area is probably about 30,000 square miles and the total population round about 200,000.
- Bringing in round about $2m annually, tourism has contributed the most to the economy's prosperity.
Synonyms roughly, about, around, just about, or so, or thereabouts, more or less, in the neighbourhood of, in the region of, in the area of, in the vicinity of, of the order of, something like, give or take, give or take a few, in round numbers, rounded down, rounded up
Phrasal Verbs 1Make the edges or corners of something smooth. round off the spars with a soft plastic fitting Example sentencesExamples - The square edges will be rounded off to prevent further damage to the wall.
- The triggerguards were rounded off, and both the forward edge of the guards and the grip areas were stippled to give a surface that's tacky to the hand but allows fabric to slide over smoothly.
- Serrations on the rear of the sight blade reduce glare, and the blade edges have been rounded off.
- One nice thing about this case is that all of the edges are rounded off, you'd be hard pressed to find a place where you could cut yourself without really trying.
- I tested the tip of one, but evidently they were purely aesthetic, the tips and edges were rounded off so that they couldn't possibly harm anyone.
- The sharp edges, corners and points have been rounded off and smoothed away.
Synonyms smooth off, plane off, sand off, level off - 1.1Complete something in a satisfying or suitable way.
a pint at the pub will round off the day nicely Example sentencesExamples - The fun gets under way at 3pm and will run on till 9pm when the day will be rounded off with a disco.
- With a combination of acrylic, watercolour and photographic work, his diverse collection is rounded off by a self-made video, adding an eerie auditory aspect to the exhibit.
- I have a glass of excellent ‘house’ Chardonnay - fruity and smooth - to accompany the meal, and round it off with the peach schnapps trifle, which proves to have a real kick.
- After a highly enjoyable day sightseeing, we decided to round things off with a pub meal before going home.
- I rounded the meal off with a cup of really excellent, fragrant coffee - refilled without me having to ask.
- The evening was rounded off by some lovely string music.
- Afterwards members enjoyed a round of golf and the evening was rounded off with refreshments in the clubhouse afterwards.
- Both these puddings turned out to be a superb way of rounding the meal off.
- The first group of children to complete the course before Christmas rounded it off with a small party and seven new children started on January 12.
- Often the tour is rounded off at the souvenir/tuck shop, getting those essential presents to bring home.
Synonyms complete, finish off, crown, cap, top off, conclude, close, bring to a close, bring to a end, end
Make a sudden verbal attack on. she rounded on me angrily Example sentencesExamples - I was dismayed to hear the bishops rounding on the First Minister last week for speaking in support of the idea.
- In any case, the government's reaction - hysterically rounding on the Opposition - seems inexplicable.
- ‘You're not even supposed to be driving,’ she snapped, rounding on him.
- Stevens said he had been drinking and saw someone push or punch his then girlfriend and when he saw her rounding on Mr Owen he joined in.
- At the meeting other councillor rounded on dog owners for not being responsible and discussed the matter of faeces.
- The guilty will defend by rounding on the accuser, and for that reason I expect to be chastised for the audacity to doubt their value, although some do good work.
- Mr. Archer offered to explain, but Anthony rounded on him and declared in a sudden outburst that he would say it himself.
- Instead, he preferred to highlight the positive aspects of the game, often rounding on criticism of the domestic game that appeared in print.
- My mother once rounded on me for saying something would be ‘such a bore’.
- He kicked-started the campaign by rounding on opponents of the single currency.
Synonyms snap at, attack, turn on, set upon, weigh into, fly at, let fly at, lash out at, hit out at, lambaste
Make something more complete. his father insisted he went to university to round out his education Example sentencesExamples - To round things out, add a delicious fall salad and scrumptious pumpkin cheesecake.
- The tartar sauce had a zippy, homemade taste to it, and both our plates were rounded out well with green salads and ample servings of perfectly nice fries.
- If you have a full-bodied soup - that is, one that is thick with vegetables and rice or pasta and a bit of meat - you have a meal, which only needs some crusty whole grain bread to round it out.
- The meatless concoctions were rounded out by lentil salad and yellow split peas cooked with turmeric, ginger and onions.
- I missed out on a couple of the facts I'd learnt last night, which would have been good to throw in to round things out.
- I learned as a teenager that if I wanted to lie convincingly and successfully, I had only to believe the lie fervently enough, to round it out in my mind with all attendant details, to give it a primary reality.
- The waiter did mention that this stew-like dish wasn't served with any accompaniment, and although it was satisfying I sort of missed rice or potatoes to round it out.
- There's also a subtle humour to the film that rounds it out nicely.
- Even a short post-script with thoughts on Lincoln's legacy would have rounded the book out nicely.
- The supplements are rounded out by a trailer and TV spot.
Synonyms expand, enlarge, add to, round out, elaborate, add detail to, add substance to, flesh out, add flesh to, put flesh on the bones of
round someone/something up 1Drive or collect a number of people or animals together for a particular purpose. in the afternoon the cows are rounded up for milking Example sentencesExamples - The animals will be rounded up and sold at auction.
- Dogs are banned from streets, parks and other public places and if seen outside, they will be rounded up and killed.
- What if they have been rounded up, to be sold as slaves?
- Sheep are wandering all over the moors in search of the best grazing, making it almost impossible for shepherds to round them up and encouraging more farmers to take advantage of higher lamb prices and sell up, meaning even fewer sheep.
- Eventually the ghetto is closed and the remaining inhabitants are rounded up and crammed onto livestock carriages bound for the camps.
- Througout the day, a total of one hundred horses were rounded up.
- The neighbourhood could get together to identify the resident cats and any strays could be rounded up and turned over to the S.P.C.A.
- Entire families will be rounded up to settle political scores or personal grudges.
- Texas cowboys watched over cattle, branded them, and rounded them up before herding them to markets first in New Orleans and by the 1850s northward to Missouri and beyond.
- I know monkeys and animals are rounded up or bred away from their natural habitats and countries for experiments in the pursuit of profit.
Synonyms gather together, herd together, drive together, bring together, muster, marshal, rally, assemble, collect, group - 1.1Arrest a number of people.
the secret police rounded up the group Example sentencesExamples - Dozens of riot police rounded them up and put them in vans.
- The usual suspects were rounded up, with no result.
- Eventually she and her other two brothers were rounded up by the police for interrogation by the usual methods, but this is only hinted at, not described.
- There were dramatic pictures that came out of there, of the police rounding these people up.
- The 24 other suspects were rounded up after his interrogation.
- Several dozen suspects had been rounded up since the weekend.
- That slaying remains such a tinderbox issue that the police and prosecutors only reluctantly confirmed for the first time today that some 12 suspects had been rounded up this month and more arrests were pending.
- According to an Associated Press report, about 100 people had been rounded up, with some of the raids directly involving CIA and FBI agents.
- Though the police has not shown their arrest in official records, however, sources in the police claimed that the suspects have been rounded up for their involvement in some other criminal cases.
- At least five suspects have been rounded up but it is still not clear who is responsible.
Synonyms gather together, herd together, drive together, bring together, muster, marshal, rally, assemble, collect, group
Origin Middle English: from the Old French stem round-, from a variant of Latin rotundus 'rotund'. Rhymes abound, aground, around, astound, bound, compound, confound, dumbfound, expound, found, ground, hound, impound, interwound, mound, pound, profound, propound, redound, sound, stoneground, surround, theatre-in-the-round (US theater-in-the-round), underground, wound Definition of round in US English: roundadjectiveraʊndround 1Shaped like or approximately like a circle or cylinder. she was seated at a small, round table Example sentencesExamples - A faint light shone from the small round window on the door.
- The circle, on a hilltop setting, is nearly perfectly round, with a diameter of 33 m.
- The Emperor Augustus had built a round shrine in front of it to put a Roman hallmark on Greece.
- He takes off his small round glasses, wipes away the mist.
- Ebony woke to see the morning sun light just coming through the small round window.
- Marie was sitting at one of the small round tables surrounding the dance floor.
- I read each label on the round cylinders and the vials within.
- The 40 rooms are small round huts with thatched roofs rising to a central spire.
- His eyes look huge behind those rosy round spectacles.
- Blake was sitting at one of the round tables, staring into thin air.
- She had large, round gold earrings that she always wore.
- It is also a town with an impressive heritage - an ancient church and round tower and a large enclosed medieval castle, some of which has been re-roofed.
- He saluted and adjusted his large round wire rimmed glasses.
- Each door has a small round window and on the walls hang life buoys.
- Without really thinking about it, she drew a huge, round circle on the page.
- I could see the fear etched across her small round face.
- A small " perfectly round hole " was found in the glass, which was crazed.
- In front of the fireplace sat a round card table, covered by a green cloth, and flanked by four plush, green leather upholstered wingback chairs.
- A small round table at one end and a book stand next to it.
- In the center was a perfectly round hole, also three-quarters of an inch.
Synonyms circular, disc-shaped, disc-like - 1.1 Having a curved shape like part of the circumference of a circle.
Example sentencesExamples - The second floor was raised on round arches and supported a balcony resting on a row of buttresses forming an eaveslike projection.
- This has a vaulted ceiling supported on round arches.
- Byzantine architecture is distinguished by its use of the round arch, cross, circle, dome, and rich mosaic ornament.
- Her hair was combed neatly, and her nails were nicely trimmed to make perfect round shapes.
- She sat down on the rock and unbuckled her shoe which was black with a round toe and a chunky heel, rather like a boot that'd had the top cut off it.
- Thick green grass lined a small, almost perfectly round curve along the bank of a stream, a small waterfall splashing softly thirty feet away.
- They slid into a round booth next to a French window.
2Shaped like or approximately like a sphere. the grapes are small and round Example sentencesExamples - Some dolls had cloth bodies with a small round gourd, acorn, or apple for a head.
- Elizabeth reached her arm out of the shop door and picked up a heavy, round stone.
- As it opened a small round object rolled out of it.
- Then suddenly, he pulled the pinchers out, and in their serrated grasp was a perfectly round lead musket ball.
- Tidily stacked on the shelves are round cabbages, stripped of their rough outer leaves, and a basket of glossy apples; bright seemly rotundities.
- That day I had worn this thick cotton quilted coat and pants that my mother had made me, and I looked like a round snowball.
- I mean, melons come in all shapes and sizes - are we talking about little round gala melons or bloody big watermelons here?
- Slowly people left, and just as slowly the park darkened and the quaint round lanterns set around the circle flickered into life.
- He reached into his pocket and brought forth a small round sphere.
- Baseball is more than round balls and base runs; it can also involve branding, design, and typography.
- It was round and spherical, with a deep groove on one side.
- Her words rise toward the surface in bright, round bubbles.
- 2.1 (of a person's body) plump.
Example sentencesExamples - I thought of her round shape, her smiling eyes, and I couldn't help feeling warm inside.
- Uncle August was married to my Aunt Avice, a pudgy and round sort of woman.
- The round man blinked and adjusted his small circular glasses.
- Mr. Roberts was very bald, very round, had very thick glasses, and looked very hungry.
- Richard Greene, a short, rather round man with thinning dirty-blonde hair, chuckled.
- She wore baggy shirts and tight pants which only accentuated her round figure.
- Alex had naturally blond hair that was almost white, a perfect tan, a short and round frame that made her look chunky in certain outfits, and green eyes.
- The round old man hurried to their side, eyeing the mix, taking a tentative mouthful of it.
- An old man with white hair came waddling out of the cottage, followed by a plump, round woman with rosy cheeks.
- Sheriff T.C. Wynn was a tall, round man with thick, shaded glasses and jet black hair that was graying at his temples.
- Josh Jones was a short, round man with a high-pitched voice and a constant grin.
- The rather round boy was identified as Paul and the freckly boy as Jake.
- A genuinely happy and rather round nurse bustled over to her.
- His round body was only slightly taller than her own.
- Lennie is a big man with great strength; his body and features are round and undefined.
- Jasmine kissed him on his bruised lips and pressed as much of her round body against him as she could.
Synonyms plump, chubby, fat, stout, rotund, roly-poly, fattish, portly, dumpy, chunky, broad in the beam, overweight, heavy, pot-bellied, beer-bellied, paunchy, falstaffian - 2.2 Having a curved surface with no sharp or jagged projections.
the boulders look round and smooth Example sentencesExamples - The catalyst comprises a support containing palladium and silver and having a uniformly round external surface.
- Why are rocks found near rivers mostly smooth and round?
- I felt my hand being pressed against a smooth, round mound.
- A large, round, smooth rock protruded suddenly a few feet past a break in the forest.
3(of a voice) rich and mellow; not harsh. Example sentencesExamples - ‘I always like champagne in the afternoon,’ he informed me in his rich round voice.
- He speaks this language like every other American, with a deep round voice that seems to come from somewhere below his knees.
- She spoke without any apparent accent, in a round voice filled with soft vowels and smooth consonants.
Synonyms sonorous, resonant, rich, full, full-toned, full-bodied, mellow, mellifluous, rounded, reverberant, orotund 4attributive (of a number) altered for convenience of expression or calculation, for example to the nearest whole number or multiple of ten or five. the size of the fleet is given in round numbers Example sentencesExamples - However, for the purposes of argument, let's stick with a million as a nice round figure.
- The store manager saw on the daily transaction report that something was wrong, because it displayed an odd dollar amount rather than a round multiple of 20.
- Do you think the company could string things out long enough for the fine to reach a nice, round billion dollars?
- Can you put a round figure on the kind of government investment you're going to need to get this up and running?
- However other American railways used different gauges. 4 foot 10 inches was popular, and in the South a round 5 foot was often used.
- We could easily have taken more - but I wanted a nice, round number.
- They were confused by our round sum of $25,000,000.
- 4.1 Used to show that a figure has been completely and exactly reached.
Example sentencesExamples - Strauss, who made a round 50 on Tuesday, was the only England batsman to pass 45 runs in the match.
- The network of offices reached a round dozen this year.
- His output under his own name reached a round 200 novels.
Synonyms complete, entire, whole, full, undivided, unbroken - 4.2archaic (of a sum of money) considerable.
his business is worth a round sum to me Example sentencesExamples - As to the money raised by local subscription, no definite apportionment has yet been made but we understand that Woodhouse will receive a good round sum.
5(of a person or their manner of speaking) not omitting or disguising anything; frank and truthful. she berated him in good round terms Synonyms candid, frank, direct, honest, truthful, straightforward, plain, plain-spoken, blunt, outspoken, forthright, downright, unvarnished, bald, straight from the shoulder, explicit, unequivocal
nounraʊndround 1A circular piece of a particular substance. cut the pastry into rounds Example sentencesExamples - Cannon says they were developed for adults to either snack on right out of the bag or use on a party tray with crackers or small bread rounds.
- All meals are accompanied with large rounds of flat bread.
- I smiled and put a dozen hot kugel tarts, dense rounds of potato and salt and oil, to drain on a paper towel near her.
- Wendy had bowls and soup spoons laid out, and gracing the center of the table was a large round of crusty bread, still warm from the oven.
- Working carefully, I slid a thin knife under the wax rounds, popping them off in one piece.
- We started with the meat patty, as that was a simple round.
- We rolled the huge rounds into the old wood shed.
- 1.1 A thick disk of beef cut from the haunch as a joint.
Example sentencesExamples - Nutrient composition data are available for four lean cuts of bison: rib-eye, clod, top round and top sirloin.
- I would appreciate some information on how to cook an inside round of beef using a slow cook method.
- Take a round of fresh beef (or the half of one if it is very large) and remove the bone.
2An act of visiting each of a number of people or places. she did the rounds of her family to say goodbye he made the rounds of the city's churches Example sentencesExamples - Intrigued, and in no particular rush I decided to talk to her before making my rounds of the town.
- The patrollers generally made their rounds at night, with their activity and regularity differing according to time and place.
- An energetic round of theatre visits kept her in touch with the latest in dramatic writing and performance.
- I made the rounds visiting all my friends and the new exhibit of the Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection.
- In fact, the officer classes seem to have been engaged in a constant round of visits.
- He is making the rounds of all the mystery conventions, taking bows for his long and prosperous career, which may be winding down a bit after all these years.
- When he was 20, Lewis made the rounds of Nashville's country career-makers.
- He's been doing the rounds of the newspapers portraying himself as the victim of press intrusion into his private life, and discoursing on identity and being proud to be English.
- Sara made the rounds of a few of the commands around the perimeter of the valley, attending to last-minute details.
- Passing from room to room through a volley of slaps on the back, friendly kisses and a beer or two he did the rounds, drinking with friends and hiding from his family.
- I made the rounds of the cabin to see if any of the guys wanted to come with me and Dutchie.
- His first night on the job the old night watchman gives him a tour, showing Martin the rounds he must make.
- Guards patrolled the floor around the grate, one of them made his round through the grate-lifting room, checking it frequently.
- As he did his rounds, he was enjoined to try a piece of pie here, have some cider there, some roast meat, some cake.
- He had put everything away in cupboards and drawers and he had not been back since the cleaning staff had made their rounds.
- From there it was easy sneaking past the random guards making their rounds through the mansion.
- They had slipped away for a week in the Lake District, made the rounds of London society arm in arm.
- Many roads were damaged and the waste trucks were having a hard time making their rounds.
- For Dom, Kodak's capitulation proved to be the start of a busy round of newspaper and TV interviews for the IT contractor.
- Rather than have a separate sales staff, Sun's 12,000 sales reps also will sell software on their rounds.
- 2.1 A tour of inspection, typically repeated regularly, in which the safety or well-being of those visited is checked.
the doctor is just making his rounds in the wards Example sentencesExamples - The jingle of keys rings out as the guard makes his rounds.
- Katherine forced herself to move and continue on her rounds, encouraging tired and listless men.
- She glanced up and down the hallway, checking for night nurses making their rounds.
- For as long as I could remember Doc Harris had been making his rounds in his trap with Lady, the grey mare.
- Her own father was a local doctor who would take her with him on his rounds.
- The residence staff does sick rounds at six thirty, and the breakfast bell rings at seven.
- The other flight attendants continued making their rounds.
- That might include a doctor who takes her Tablet PC along for her morning rounds, an insurance agent, or even a package delivery person.
- The doctor is on his rounds now, and he can't waste any time.
- When on his rounds in the African hospital, he had been known to look at some minor injury to a hand or foot and then utter the dread words, ‘That will have to come off!’
Synonyms circuit, beat, course, route
3One of a sequence of sessions or groups of related actions or events, typically such that development or progress can be seen between one group and another. the two sides held three rounds of talks Example sentencesExamples - The senior officials have so far held three rounds of preparatory meetings this year.
- The talks will be this year's third round of negotiations, and the 11 th overall.
- In a second round of personal interviews, participants recalled critical incidents of using information from the Web.
- A new round of global trade negotiations is moving closer to being launched, as the six-day ministerial meeting in Doha draws to a close.
- His first move will be to inject energy into the round of global trade negotiations that was launched last November in Doha, Qatar.
- Individual politicians can never be held responsible for falling policies, due to the endless rounds of talks that precede decisions in which all parties, more or less have to agree in the end.
- The six nations agreed to hold the next round of talks in early November in Beijing.
- Australia and Singapore have begun a second round of bilateral trade talks in Canberra, and are aiming to sign a free trade pact by the end of the year.
- It comes on the heels of a successful November launch of a new round of global trade talks.
- Even more to the point, it makes you wonder how on earth it got past the usual film-industry round of development meetings and off the ground.
- They held a third round of talks in Beijing last week.
- Investment in education in general, and in particular school education would play a vital role in the next round of development.
- Mandela believed agreement would be reached in the next, final round of negotiations in July.
Synonyms spell, period, time, stretch, stint, turn, run, session, cycle - 3.1 A division of a contest such as a boxing or wrestling match.
Example sentencesExamples - Worse than that is when Taylor prevents the timekeeper from ending the round during the big fight.
- He and Jones knew each other from way back and had fought some close rounds as amateurs.
- I won one of the rounds, but she outscored me in the end.
- Haley and I sat on the swings, while Chad and Dominic continued their tiebreaker round of wrestling.
- He looked tattered and damp, as if he'd just done ten rounds of mud wrestling.
Synonyms contest, match, heat, competition, tournament, event, meeting, meet, fixture, game - 3.2 One of a succession of stages in a sporting contest or other competition, in each of which more candidates are eliminated.
the playoffs in the second round Example sentencesExamples - The tournament will have five rounds, one on the Thursday evening, two on the Friday (morning and evening), one on the Saturday and one on the Sunday.
- In the first round of the play-offs they faced the Oakland Athletics.
- After that, we'll play in the first round of the conference tournament.
- The women went into Sunday's playoff round pleased with their overall play.
- We feel sure that we've made it into the next round of the competition.
- As mentioned last week, we still don't have a clear third place winner for this round of the contest.
- The Warriors will face the host team from York this morning before moving on to tomorrow's elimination round.
- Up to eighteen pianists will advance to the semifinal round, where each will present a program of no more than twenty minutes.
- Shelbourne is the first Irish league team to reach the final qualifying round since the beginning of the competition.
- It had been rather emotional for those groups that were eliminated in the second round.
- Town's passage follows that of Harrogate Railway Athletic, who also reached the third qualifying round 24 hours earlier.
- The competition consists of three rounds: preliminary, semi-final and final.
- The first time he entered, he was eliminated after the first round.
- This is the first round where the contestants are partnerless.
- I didn't get past the second round so my last song was never performed.
- But all the same, it was a win and it guaranteed Wilson a spot in the next round.
- As many as twenty six rounds of negotiations were held between the Akali Dal and the government.
- Five ‘semi-finalists’ were chosen to move into the second round of the demolition derby.
- In 2002 they reached the fourth round of the qualifiers against Kerry, and felt like they had finally arrived.
- 3.3 An act of playing all the holes in a golf course once.
Eileen enjoys the occasional round of golf Example sentencesExamples - They will play four rounds of golf in one day.
- They just showed up once a quarter for a round of golf and a casual perusal of the books.
- One weekend, a group of friends decide that they aren't going to play the usual round of golf.
- Brennan said that while most GPs like to think they are not being influenced, the reality was that a meal or a round of golf did influence their choices.
- The Scot began yesterday's round with a par that gave no indication of what was to come.
- We play the last round of the reunion tour golf championship.
- So much business has been conducted over a round of golf that it's almost cliche.
- Anyone who has played a round of golf will know how delays can frustrate anyone's best day on the links.
- The lead seesawed between the two of them for much of the round, before John went ahead to stay after the 16th hole of the round.
- The Old Head is one of the most expensive courses in Ireland: green fees are €250 for a round of golf.
- Although he was about to turn 90, he looked trim and fit and boasted he had just returned from a robust round of golf at a nearby course.
- A horse riding excursion through the New Forest can also be arranged as can a round of golf on the nine-hole course or on one of the ten nearby courses.
- Once the round of golf is over, the brothers can relax in the hotel's leisure complex.
- I like to play a round of golf, to potter around the garden, and visit markets.
- But he is also described as a ‘personable’ guy who enjoys a round of golf and a drink.
- A round of gold at Erinvale Golf Course, at the foothills of the Helderberg Mountains, is unmissable.
- The trips involved an overnight stay, a meal and a round of golf.
- It's perfect for kids - or kids at heart who don't have time to play a full 18-hole round.
- In certain instances students met with their industry mentors while playing a round of golf.
- He had been to the club, got in a round of golf, had an excellent buffet breakfast, and then headed home.
4A regularly recurring sequence of activities or functions. their lives were a daily round of housework and laundry Example sentencesExamples - For expats, life's an endless round of parties.
- Festivities at Christmas, Easter, and May Day, at the end of ploughing and the completion of harvest, relieved the monotony of the daily round of labor.
- She is doing a little royal work and doing it well, but will not take on a full-time round of royal engagements.
- Because my memory is so terrible, sometimes I want to write about a certain part of the daily round so I won't forget about it.
Synonyms succession, sequence, series, cycle - 4.1 A set of drinks bought for all the members of a group, typically as part of a sequence in which each member in turn buys such a set.
Example sentencesExamples - Anyone joining a group of drinkers immediately buys a round of drinks for everyone at the table.
- After a few more rounds of drinks, I began to get lightheaded and figured I'd better stop drinking.
- She distracted Annie from more questions by ordering around round of drinks for everyone.
- Betty walked over to give Jess and Phoebe their next round of drinks.
- We park ourselves at the bar and order another round of drinks.
- Hopefully, one of them will buy the first round of drinks.
- I'll even promise a round of drinks for the staff the next time I'm in London.
- Another round of drinks and she was stumbling around with the rest of them.
- I went over to them and said, ‘I apologise’, and I bought them a round of drinks.
- Buying a round of drinks can get pretty steep sometimes.
- After a few rounds of the sugary drink, the girls got quite giggly and decided that what we really needed was a game of Truth or Dare.
- She can't go blabbing out secrets after the third round of drinks.
- Andrew was at the bar, ordering a round of drinks for them all.
- Though she wasn't drinking anything harder than mineral water, Isabelle took her turn in buying a round of drinks.
- He walked smoothly towards the bar to get another round of drinks.
- Whenever someone has money, they invite their friends to go out to a neighborhood bar for a round of drinks.
- They called over the bartender and ordered a round of beers.
- One group had gone through a couple of rounds of pints in the time that it had taken him to get served.
- We order a round of drinks and then I head out to the dance floor.
- After the revolution, newly hired workers no longer had to buy a round of drinks for their mates, and they no longer drank in honor of their bosses.
5Music A song for three or more unaccompanied voices or parts, each singing the same theme but starting one after another, at the same pitch or in octaves; a simple canon. Example sentencesExamples - We sang songs in rounds, back and forth with our own echoes.
- The a cappella style of vocals that sit on top of each other is like listening to a band whose main musical influences are the playground rhymes and infant school rounds rather than actual songs.
- Its ancestry is in the madrigal, the round, the glee (which fostered numerous glee clubs), and the partsong.
- The same loop has been started at different times on each monitor, in the manner of a ceaseless musical round, or canon.
- Their older brothers and sisters performed the Jewish song Shalom Chaverim, sung as a round.
6The amount of ammunition needed to fire one shot. Example sentencesExamples - Julie raised her gun and fired off a few rounds at the men above.
- The rate of fire for the gun was 250-300 rounds per minute.
- What impresses them is if I go out to my balcony in the middle of the night and fire off three rounds from my rifle.
- In 1885, Maxim developed a single-barrel weapon that could fire 500 rounds of ammunition a minute.
- Insurgents spotted the jam and launched three mortar rounds.
- So she angled the gun around the corner and fired several rounds before she heard the man go down.
- The directional pad is used for zooming in on targets, and the trigger buttons fire rounds of ammunition.
- This was a large calibre assault rifle which could fire up to 1200 rounds per minute.
- From a distance of about six feet, he aims the shotgun at Danny's side and fires off a round.
- I have been to a gun club and I have fired off rounds for kicks.
- All the men were dressed in fatigues, and carried side arms and carried a number of rounds for the side arms as well as the rifles that they carried.
- You can even attempt to subdue a suspect by flashing your badge or firing a couple of rounds into the air in hopes of scaring the sucker into compliance.
- We shot several rounds of high-explosive ammunition into the area.
- Three hand grenades, four revolvers, one rifle and 150 rounds of ammunition had been found.
- The 8th Air Force had fired 99 million rounds of ammunition during these flights and it is thought that 20,000 German planes were destroyed.
- Then, suddenly, there is a different sound - the gut-churning crack of live rounds being fired.
- In the initial 30 seconds I would say that a hundred rounds were fired at the crowd.
- His father fired a few rounds into the plastic dummy.
- My gun snapped up, and I squeezed off a quick burst of silenced rounds even before his gun was halfway up.
- The pilot directs the vehicle, and the gunner has a full 360° control of the turret which can either fire machine gun rounds, or mortars.
Synonyms bullet, cartridge, shell, shot - 6.1Archery A fixed number of arrows shot from a fixed distance.
Example sentencesExamples - She did a whole round of arrows, perfect shots every single time - straight to the bull's eye.
prepositionraʊndround British verbraʊndround [with object]1Pass and go around (something) so as to move on in a changed direction. the ship rounded the cape and sailed north Example sentencesExamples - We rounded the curve, and the corridor came to an abrupt halt.
- He dribbled past three French players, before rounding the goalkeeper to score.
- Turning to the street, he saw another cab rounding the corner.
- As I rounded yet another bend in the road, the wind picked up.
- They rounded a bend and saw pale light at the end of the vent.
- Through the kitchen door, I see her round the bottom of the stairs and lean against the banister.
- He looked up at Emily, who was now rounding the table towards him.
- As we rounded a curve, a truck weaved halfway into our lane.
- The soldiers rounded the corner and stopped in front of the party.
- The older couple glanced at them all, then proceeded down the corridor, rounding the corner as they walked to the elevators.
- ‘Remember if you need anything, just ask Christa,’ he called to Jared before rounding the house.
- There was something willowy in the way she swung her slender hips the slightest bit as she rounded a table.
- Then the carriage began to move, and he lost sight of her as they rounded a bend.
- By the end of the third day, the ship had rounded the cape.
- They passed the great papyrus swamps the next day and rounded the point which marked the edge of the Canopus mouth of the Nile.
- Jack and Angela rounded the corner three blocks away from their houses.
- Another group of policemen round a corner to find a car alarm blaring and a window smashed, with the cause of the mayhem nowhere to be found.
- Johnson wrapped the game up when he beat the offside trap and rounded the keeper.
- She moved through an office door and rounded the corner to the employee lounge.
- A moment later, the vehicle appeared, rounding a curve up ahead.
Synonyms go round, move round, travel round, sail round, circumnavigate 2Alter (a number) to one less exact but more convenient for calculations. we'll round the weight up to the nearest pound the committee rounded down the figure let's just round it off to an even ten dollars Example sentencesExamples - In writing down the score, all scores are divided by 10 with fractions rounded down.
- This bracket will be rounded down to the nearest $50 for joint returns and head of household returns.
- Round the result to the nearest 10 points (numbers ending in 5 are rounded upwards).
- We rounded down, so the worst loss is also the net loss.
- Oracle wants customers to multiply the number of processors cores in a system by .75 and then round up to the next whole number regardless of the fraction.
- Thus, using this value is a bit like rounding off your own weight to the nearest hundred pounds.
- Under the act, prices for such items as television licences and permits have to be rounded down to the nearest convenient amount below the exact euro equivalent.
- What pure scientific purpose is served by rounding the number up to 100,000?
- It was prespecified that stock market figures would be rounded up or down as appropriate.
- Income and gains should be rounded down to the nearest pound, while tax credits and deductions should be rounded up to the nearest pound.
- Converting to inches and rounding up, footing dimensions of 14 X 14 inches will be adequate.
3Give a round shape to. a lathe that rounded chair legs Example sentencesExamples - To deepen the stretch, slowly extend arms and round spine forward, letting the weight of the torso fall forward.
- 3.1no object Become circular in shape.
her eyes rounded in dismay Example sentencesExamples - ‘What do you mean?’ she asked, her blue eyes, rounding in question.
- I muttered under my breath, my almond shaped eyes rounding to replicate saucers.
- 3.2Phonetics Pronounce (a vowel) with the lips narrowed and protruded.
Example sentencesExamples - Most Australians can achieve this accent by ‘rounding the vowels’ and concentrating on speaking ‘properly’.
- She speaks very fast, with a Spanish accent that rounds her vowels.
- If he rounds his vowels a bit more his accent will drop.
Usage On the difference in use between round and around, see around Phrases 1(of sculpture) standing free with all sides shown, rather than carved in relief against a ground. Example sentencesExamples - The turn from relief to sculpture in the round led to radical changes in his work.
- Whether in reliefs or figures carved in the round, he achieved dramatic expression of emotion through the intense faces, emphatic gestures, and cascading draperies of his figures.
- They are not sculpture in the round, but the pieces can be viewed from either side.
- Standing just 36 cm high, and carved in the round, the model for the Queen Charlotte's figurehead is a tour de force of the woodcarver's art, although its maker's name is as yet unknown.
- Also carved in the round is a seated female figure just over one inch in height.
- 1.1Treated fully and thoroughly; with all aspects shown or considered.
to understand social phenomena one must see them in the round Example sentencesExamples - However, the person's conduct must also be considered in context and in the round.
- Taken in the round, this project has shown that sustainable farming really can work, even in the most hostile conditions.
- The question of exceptional circumstances must therefore be considered in the round.
- His worldly-wise, amused, delicately cynical narrators observe characters in the round, identifying qualities that edify but which are muddied by foibles, peccadilloes, and, once in a while, mortal sins.
- The governments in the past have not had much of an appetite for dealing with things in the round.
- The process must be viewed in the round, and not on a pupil by pupil basis, and chambers may well see an advantage in developing close relationships with pupils who plan to practise as employed barristers or to practise overseas.
- All the evidence should have been looked at in the round.
- But where there is any element of ambiguity the inquiry must look at all relevant facts and circumstances in the round.
- The adjudicator must look at all of the material in the round and see whether he is persuaded of the claim.
- When taken in the round, then, it is clear that the case for small farms is a strong one, and must be made loudly and persistently if the rural economy is to change for the better.
2(of a theatrical performance) with the audience placed on at least three sides of the stage. Example sentencesExamples - Some of the ballets were designed to be danced in the round, and that is incredible training for a dancer.
- The opera will be performed in the round, in two acts with an hour-long interval to allow for picnics on the lawn or a stroll through the gardens of the Georgian mansion.
- The play was done in the company's Bingham Theatre, which is in the round, the hardest kind of space for a stage director to work in.
- Played in the round and without an interval, it is harrowing but it is also a totally engrossing piece of theatre.
- Theatre in the round, opera in the park and lunchtime concerts in the workplace are all examples of venues that can transform and regenerate the whole experience of performance.
- The director presented one of the few instances in my life where theatre in the round has succeeded.
- Like most plays, it loses by being presented in the round.
- Theatre, in the round, is not my favourite venue for an evening's entertainment but, after last night, I begin to realise how effective it can be when it is under control of a man who knows how to handle it to its maximum advantage
- This show would be fun when seated in the round, in a smaller space, with a drink in hand.
- Because of the vagaries of Irish weather the opera is performed in a five hundred-seater marquee with a central stage, making it opera in the round.
1On all sides or in all directions; surrounding someone or something. everything round about was covered with snow Example sentencesExamples - Alternatively, the hill forts may have been community storage facilities for grain and livestock, a trading centre, and perhaps a ritual focus, with the important people living round about.
- Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the side of thine house; thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
- Now they are crowded round about us, trying to get a grandstand view.
- He promptly erected an altar from the stones round about, then dedicated the fat, entrails and head of the stag to Artemis and burned the animal as a holocaust.
- Already he could clearly discern the treetops round about him; but it was in vain that his eye sought the view of the old brown church tower and the weather-worn roofs.
- Besides these, there are the urban and suburban wanderers, or those who follow some itinerant occupation in and round about the large towns.
- He was no hearty admirer of the Cambridge landscape - in the poem he avoids it with some ingenuity and confines himself to the names of the villages round about.
- Pray, Mrs. Tremlett, do you know any thing about the factory people that work in all these great ugly buildings round about Ashleigh?
- Outside the Asian school, waiting to pick up the consul's children, he feels the street go still, the shops round about go dead.
- They have set up night schools in villages round about to offer education suitable for rural life, rather than the alien curriculum offered by official schools.
2At a point or time approximately equal to. they arrived round about nine Example sentencesExamples - If any such deal is in the offing, expect it round about the time shareholders need an extra boost.
- I set the hotel clock to wake us up round about 7 ‘o’ clock.
- The telephone rang at round about half-past three in the morning.
- Some of the reviewers when the book appeared seemed to find evidence for a sudden conversion round about 1934, but his disgust for earthly things is displayed over and over again in his early novels.
- It was round about this time that Haydn was able to see some of his works which he praised highly, citing the young composer as an ‘outstanding talent’.
- We're also getting a significant amount of money from industry, probably round about the same as the government's putting in, $20-million or so.
- Bringing in round about $2m annually, tourism has contributed the most to the economy's scant prosperity.
- He has often been supposed to be the ‘Fair Youth’ of Shakespeare's Sonnets, most of which may well have been written round about 1593-6, though they may have been revised and reordered around 1602.
- If you take a trip down to Cornwall round about now you'll find that many of the county's resorts and tourist attractions, far from suffering a foot and mouth-induced tourist drain, are flourishing.
- On their third dive, round about 3pm, they headed off together and were last spotted swimming calmly 12m down.
Synonyms approximately, about, around, roughly, in the neighbourhood of, in the area of, of the order of, just about, something like, more or less, as near as dammit to, close to, near to, practically - 2.1Approximately.
we raised round about half a million dollars round about 10,000 homes were affected Example sentencesExamples - The total area is probably about 30,000 square miles and the total population round about 200,000.
- The amount the government spends on the NHS is round about two-thirds of that in France and Germany and half of what the USA spends, as a percentage of our national income.
- They have been made what we think is a generous offer, round about a ten per cent increase in pay over two years.
- By comparison for example, the hydrocarbon business is growing at round about 2% per annum.
- For the same car, but with circa 40k on the clock, you'd be looking at round about 24k from a dealer, but I'd be inclined to try to push that down a bit.
- The backlog of claims, I think, is down to round about 10,000.
- The limiting factor is clearly the interface but at round about 1GB per minute, the transfer speed is reasonable.
- Bringing in round about $2m annually, tourism has contributed the most to the economy's prosperity.
- He replied that the Government was increasing investment "by round about half-a-billion pounds over the next few years".
- Only round about seven per cent of those who have horses or have access to horses ride to hounds.
- Round about 1.35 million sheep were exported or moved during the month of February.
- The budget that the Commissioner manages is round about £2.5 billion.
Synonyms roughly, about, around, just about, or so, or thereabouts, more or less, in the neighbourhood of, in the region of, in the area of, in the vicinity of, of the order of, something like, give or take, give or take a few, in round numbers, rounded down, rounded up
(of a story or joke) be passed on from person to person. Example sentencesExamples - However, there are also contrary rumors going the rounds.
- The stories of intimidation and straightforward fraud are still going the rounds.
- I'd like to know because it was certainly a story that went the rounds among schoolboys in my day.
- However, a rumour went the rounds in November 1870 that he had recently married.
- There was another story going the rounds, concerning Don Venus.
- There was a story going the rounds about one of the European shift bosses who was invited to the Lewises for lunch, to sample one of Jane's home made Cornish pasties.
- However if only half of what is going the rounds right now has even a semblance of credence to it then it would seem that there are problems to be ironed out.
- The latest Churchill story going the rounds has to do with a stuffy young Foreign Office secretary who had the job of ‘vetting’ the then Prime Minister's magnificent speeches.
- A story went the rounds of one agent who went to a café and asked for a café noir - this was a mistake, because a café noir was the only kind available, milk being rationed, and his ‘cover’ was blown.
- There was, inevitably, a lot of gossip going the rounds, mostly amongst the wives.
Synonyms spread, be passed around, get around, go the rounds
Phrasal Verbs 1Make the edges or corners of something smooth. round off the spars with a soft plastic fitting Example sentencesExamples - I tested the tip of one, but evidently they were purely aesthetic, the tips and edges were rounded off so that they couldn't possibly harm anyone.
- The sharp edges, corners and points have been rounded off and smoothed away.
- One nice thing about this case is that all of the edges are rounded off, you'd be hard pressed to find a place where you could cut yourself without really trying.
- The square edges will be rounded off to prevent further damage to the wall.
- The triggerguards were rounded off, and both the forward edge of the guards and the grip areas were stippled to give a surface that's tacky to the hand but allows fabric to slide over smoothly.
- Serrations on the rear of the sight blade reduce glare, and the blade edges have been rounded off.
Synonyms smooth off, plane off, sand off, level off - 1.1Complete something in a satisfying or suitable way.
I rounded off my visit to Ganu by purchasing a number of exquisite masks Example sentencesExamples - The evening was rounded off by some lovely string music.
- With a combination of acrylic, watercolour and photographic work, his diverse collection is rounded off by a self-made video, adding an eerie auditory aspect to the exhibit.
- The first group of children to complete the course before Christmas rounded it off with a small party and seven new children started on January 12.
- I have a glass of excellent ‘house’ Chardonnay - fruity and smooth - to accompany the meal, and round it off with the peach schnapps trifle, which proves to have a real kick.
- Afterwards members enjoyed a round of golf and the evening was rounded off with refreshments in the clubhouse afterwards.
- After a highly enjoyable day sightseeing, we decided to round things off with a pub meal before going home.
- I rounded the meal off with a cup of really excellent, fragrant coffee - refilled without me having to ask.
- Often the tour is rounded off at the souvenir/tuck shop, getting those essential presents to bring home.
- Both these puddings turned out to be a superb way of rounding the meal off.
- The fun gets under way at 3pm and will run on till 9pm when the day will be rounded off with a disco.
Synonyms complete, finish off, crown, cap, top off, conclude, close, bring to a close, bring to a end, end
Make a sudden verbal attack on or unexpected retort to. she rounded on me angrily Example sentencesExamples - I was dismayed to hear the bishops rounding on the First Minister last week for speaking in support of the idea.
- Mr. Archer offered to explain, but Anthony rounded on him and declared in a sudden outburst that he would say it himself.
- Stevens said he had been drinking and saw someone push or punch his then girlfriend and when he saw her rounding on Mr Owen he joined in.
- He kicked-started the campaign by rounding on opponents of the single currency.
- In any case, the government's reaction - hysterically rounding on the Opposition - seems inexplicable.
- At the meeting other councillor rounded on dog owners for not being responsible and discussed the matter of faeces.
- The guilty will defend by rounding on the accuser, and for that reason I expect to be chastised for the audacity to doubt their value, although some do good work.
- Instead, he preferred to highlight the positive aspects of the game, often rounding on criticism of the domestic game that appeared in print.
- My mother once rounded on me for saying something would be ‘such a bore’.
- ‘You're not even supposed to be driving,’ she snapped, rounding on him.
Synonyms snap at, attack, turn on, set upon, weigh into, fly at, let fly at, lash out at, hit out at, lambaste
Make something more complete. round out the meal with fruit and salad Example sentencesExamples - There's also a subtle humour to the film that rounds it out nicely.
- If you have a full-bodied soup - that is, one that is thick with vegetables and rice or pasta and a bit of meat - you have a meal, which only needs some crusty whole grain bread to round it out.
- I learned as a teenager that if I wanted to lie convincingly and successfully, I had only to believe the lie fervently enough, to round it out in my mind with all attendant details, to give it a primary reality.
- To round things out, add a delicious fall salad and scrumptious pumpkin cheesecake.
- Even a short post-script with thoughts on Lincoln's legacy would have rounded the book out nicely.
- The meatless concoctions were rounded out by lentil salad and yellow split peas cooked with turmeric, ginger and onions.
- I missed out on a couple of the facts I'd learnt last night, which would have been good to throw in to round things out.
- The supplements are rounded out by a trailer and TV spot.
- The tartar sauce had a zippy, homemade taste to it, and both our plates were rounded out well with green salads and ample servings of perfectly nice fries.
- The waiter did mention that this stew-like dish wasn't served with any accompaniment, and although it was satisfying I sort of missed rice or potatoes to round it out.
Synonyms expand, enlarge, add to, round out, elaborate, add detail to, add substance to, flesh out, add flesh to, put flesh on the bones of
round someone/something up 1Drive or collect a number of people or animals together for a particular purpose. in the afternoon the cows are rounded up for milking Example sentencesExamples - I know monkeys and animals are rounded up or bred away from their natural habitats and countries for experiments in the pursuit of profit.
- Througout the day, a total of one hundred horses were rounded up.
- What if they have been rounded up, to be sold as slaves?
- Dogs are banned from streets, parks and other public places and if seen outside, they will be rounded up and killed.
- Entire families will be rounded up to settle political scores or personal grudges.
- Texas cowboys watched over cattle, branded them, and rounded them up before herding them to markets first in New Orleans and by the 1850s northward to Missouri and beyond.
- The animals will be rounded up and sold at auction.
- Sheep are wandering all over the moors in search of the best grazing, making it almost impossible for shepherds to round them up and encouraging more farmers to take advantage of higher lamb prices and sell up, meaning even fewer sheep.
- The neighbourhood could get together to identify the resident cats and any strays could be rounded up and turned over to the S.P.C.A.
- Eventually the ghetto is closed and the remaining inhabitants are rounded up and crammed onto livestock carriages bound for the camps.
Synonyms gather together, herd together, drive together, bring together, muster, marshal, rally, assemble, collect, group - 1.1Arrest a number of people.
Example sentencesExamples - That slaying remains such a tinderbox issue that the police and prosecutors only reluctantly confirmed for the first time today that some 12 suspects had been rounded up this month and more arrests were pending.
- The usual suspects were rounded up, with no result.
- The 24 other suspects were rounded up after his interrogation.
- Dozens of riot police rounded them up and put them in vans.
- Eventually she and her other two brothers were rounded up by the police for interrogation by the usual methods, but this is only hinted at, not described.
- Several dozen suspects had been rounded up since the weekend.
- Though the police has not shown their arrest in official records, however, sources in the police claimed that the suspects have been rounded up for their involvement in some other criminal cases.
- At least five suspects have been rounded up but it is still not clear who is responsible.
- According to an Associated Press report, about 100 people had been rounded up, with some of the raids directly involving CIA and FBI agents.
- There were dramatic pictures that came out of there, of the police rounding these people up.
Synonyms gather together, herd together, drive together, bring together, muster, marshal, rally, assemble, collect, group
Origin Middle English: from the Old French stem round-, from a variant of Latin rotundus ‘rotund’. |