round

round¹ W2S2 [raund] adv, prep especially BrE also around

1.) surrounding or on all sides of something or someone

▪ We sat round the table playing cards.

▪ Gather round! I have an important announcement to make.

▪ He put his arm gently round her waist.

▪ I kept the key on a chain round my neck.

▪ The ballroom's huge, with windows all the way round .

▪ There was a lovely courtyard with tables all round .

2.) used to say that someone or something turns so that they face in the opposite direction

▪ When he turned round I recognised him immediately.

▪ Graham glanced round, startled by the voice behind him.

3.) in or to many places or parts of an area

▪ Reggie went round making sure all the lights were off.

▪ Leah showed me round on my first day at the office.

▪ A guide took us round the palace and gardens.

▪ He spent a whole year travelling round Europe.

▪ She looked round the room as though leaving it for the last time.

▪ changes that are affecting the weather all round the world

4.) moving in a circle

▪ She watched the clock hands go round.

▪ An aeroplane was circling round far overhead.

▪ Until the 16th century people believed that the sun went round the earth.

▪ He stared at the washing machine, just watching the clothes go round and round .

▪ a shoal of tiny fish swimming round in circles

5.) informal if you go round to someone's house, you go to their house, usually to visit them

▪ I might go round to Nigel's this evening.

▪ He's invited us round for dinner.

▪ We'll be round (=will arrive) at seven.

6.) to other people or positions

▪ A big box of chocolates was handed round.

▪ He'd moved his furniture round.

7.) on the other side of something, or to the other side of it without going through it or over it

▪ He ran round to open Kate's door for her.

▪ There must be another entrance round the back.

▪ I watched the two boys disappear round the corner .

round to

▪ She came round to his side of the desk.

8.) in the area near a particular place

▪ Much of the countryside round Hinkley Point is given over to agriculture.

▪ Do you live round here ?

▪ He owned all the land round about (=in the surrounding area) .

9.) round about

spoken informal also round

used when guessing a number, amount, time etc without being exact

= ↑approximately

▪ We got there round about half past nine.

▪ He's round about the same age as my son.

▪ It must have been round midnight when I saw him.

10.)used to show that someone spends time in a place without doing anything useful

▪ People were just standing round and not doing anything to help.

11.) if something is organized round a particular person or thing, it is organized according to their needs, wishes, ideas etc

▪ Working from home, she could arrange her hours round her children.

▪ He had built his whole existence round her.

12.) a way round a difficult situation or problem is a way to solve it or avoid it

▪ She's going to have to buy a car. I can't see any other way round it.

▪ strategies to get round (=solve) the problem

13.) used to show the length of a line surrounding something

▪ The park was about five miles round.

→↑all round

→go round in circles at ↑circle¹ (5)

→(a)round the clock at ↑clock¹ (2)

→(just) around/round the corner at ↑corner¹ (9)

→first/second time round at ↑time¹ (3)

→way round at ↑way¹ (24)

round ²

round² W2S1 adj

[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: roont, from Latin rotundus]

1.) shaped like a circle

▪ a big round table

▪ Jamie's eyes grew round with delight.

2.) shaped like a ball

▪ small round berries

3.) fat and curved

▪ round chubby cheeks

4.) [only before noun]

a round number or figure is a whole number, often ending in 0

▪ Let's make it a round figure: say £50?

in round figures

(=expressed as the nearest 10, 100, 1000 etc)

▪ Altogether, in round figures, there are about three thousand students here.

a round hundred/dozen etc

(=a complete hundred etc)

→a square peg in a round hole at ↑square¹ (12)

>roundness n [U]

round ³

round³ n

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(series)¦

2¦(competition)¦

3¦(regular activities)¦

4¦(visits)¦

5 round of applause

6¦(golf)¦

7¦(boxing/wrestling)¦

8¦(drinks)¦

9 do the rounds

10 do the rounds of something

11¦(gun shot)¦

12¦(circle)¦

13¦(food/newspapers/letters etc)¦

14¦(song)¦

15 round of sandwiches

16 round of toast

17 in the round

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1.) ¦(SERIES)¦

a round of events is a series of related events, which are part of a longer process

round of

▪ a third round of peace talks

▪ the Government's latest round of expenditure cuts

2.) ¦(COMPETITION)¦

one of the parts of a competition that you have to finish or win before you can go on to the next part

→↑heat, stage ↑stage

the first/final/next/qualifying etc round

▪ I got beaten in the first round.

▪ Two of their candidates made it through to the next round.

round of

▪ the final round of the championship

3.) ¦(REGULAR ACTIVITIES)¦

round of sth

a round of activities is a regular series of activities, especially activities that are not very exciting

▪ an endless round of meetings and interviews

▪ He continued with his usual round of private and business engagements.

▪ the daily round of commuting and shopping

4.) ¦(VISITS)¦

rounds [plural]

the usual visits that someone, especially a doctor, regularly makes as part of their job

be (out) on your rounds

▪ I'm sorry. The doctor is out on her rounds.

5.) round of applause

when people ↑clap for a short time to show that they enjoyed something or approve of something

▪ She got a big round of applause .

▪ The passengers gave the pilot a round of applause .

6.) ¦(GOLF)¦

a complete game of golf

▪ I played a round of golf on Sunday morning.

7.) ¦(BOXING/WRESTLING)¦

one of the periods of fighting in a ↑boxing or ↑wrestling match

8.) ¦(DRINKS)¦

if you buy a round of drinks in a bar, you buy drinks for all the people in your group

it's my/your etc round

(=used to say whose turn it is to buy drinks for all the people in your group)

▪ What are you having? It's my round.

9.) do the rounds

BrE informal make the rounds AmE also go the rounds BrE

if a story, idea, or illness does the rounds, it is passed on from one person to another

▪ a joke doing the rounds

10.) do the rounds of sth

BrE make the rounds of sth AmE

to go around from one place to another, especially looking for work or advertising something

▪ Ryan is making the rounds of talk shows to promote her new movie.

11.) ¦(GUN SHOT)¦

a single shot from a gun, or a bullet for one shot

▪ I've only got ten rounds of ammunition left.

▪ Richards fired a few rounds .

12.) ¦(CIRCLE)¦

something that has a circular shape

▪ Slice the potatoes into rounds.

13.) ¦(FOOD/NEWSPAPERS/LETTERS ETC)¦

BrE a regular visit to a number of houses, offices etc to deliver or sell things

paper/milk round

(=a job in which you deliver newspapers, milk etc to people's houses)

▪ I used to do a paper round .

14.) ¦(SONG)¦

a song for three or four singers, in which each one sings the same tune, starting at a different time

15.) round of sandwiches

BrE ↑sandwiches made from two whole pieces of bread

16.) round of toast

BrE one whole piece of bread that has been ↑toasted

17.) in the round

a play that is performed in the round is performed on a central stage surrounded by the people watching it

round ⁴

round⁴ v

1.) [T]

to go round something such as a bend or the corner of a building

▪ As they rounded the bend and came in sight of the river, Philip took her hand.

▪ The tide was coming in as he rounded the rocks.

2.) [T]

to make something into a round shape

▪ The stones were then rounded, polished and engraved.

3.) [i]written

if your eyes round, you open them wide because you are shocked, frightened etc

▪ Barbara's eyes rounded in surprise.

→↑rounded, ↑well-rounded

round down [round sth<=>down] phr v

to reduce an exact figure to the nearest whole number

→↑round up

▪ For the 1841 census it was decided to round down ages over fifteen to the nearest five.

round off [round sth<=>off] phr v

1.) to do something as a way of ending an event, performance etc in a suitable or satisfactory way

= ↑finish round something<=>off with

▪ You can round off the evening with a visit to the nightclub.

▪ She rounded off the meal with some cheese.

▪ It was the perfect way to round off the season.

2.) to take the sharp or rough edges off something

▪ Round off the corners with a pair of scissors.

3.) to change an exact figure to the nearest whole number

round something<=>off to

▪ Prices are rounded off to the nearest dollar.

round on [round on sb] phr v

to suddenly turn and attack someone when they do not expect it, either with words or physically

▪ When the door closed, Crabb rounded on Edwards. 'You stupid idiot!'

round out [round sth<=>out] phr v

to make an experience more thorough or complete

▪ African percussion and Native American flute round out the show.

round up [round sb/sth<=>up] phr v

1.) if police or soldiers round up a particular group of people, they find them and force them to go to prison

▪ Thousands of men were rounded up and jailed.

2.) to find and gather together a group of people, animals, or things

▪ See if you can round up a few friends to help you!

▪ His dog Nell started to round up the sheep.

3.) to increase an exact figure to the next highest whole number

→↑round down