round

Pluralrounds

Formsrounds, rounding, rounded

1. 1
   circularadjective

   Shaped like a circle, a ball, or a cylinder; curved all the way around.

   A round window lit the stairs.

   The pipes are round and made of clay.

   Similarcircular, spherical, cylindrical

   Oppositesquare, angular

2. 2
   contest stagenouncountable

   One stage in a competition, game, or quiz, often after which some players or teams are eliminated.

   The final round is played on Sunday.

   Sixteen teams reach the later rounds.

   UsageTeams reach, play in or go out in a round: the final round, knocked out in the second round.

   Similarstage

   Note

   Progress through a competition, measured in stages: qualifying rounds first, then later ones, up to the final round. Where the boxing round is a slice of clock time inside one contest, a round of this kind is a stage of play: in a tournament it contains whole contests, while in a quiz or game it is one part of a single contest.

3. 3
   all overadverb

   An alternative form of around: in a circle, so as to face the other way, from one person or place to another, or to a nearby place by an indirect way.

   The carousel spun round and round until the music stopped.

   Her thoughts went round and round as she tried to fall asleep.

   UsageMainly British; common in turn round, go round, and send something round.

   Note

   The adverb without its opening a-, doing the same work as around. It can send something to everyone, as Scott does in Peveril of the Peak (1823) ("the invitations were sent round"), move from place to place, or turn something to face the other way. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Walter Scott wrote Peveril of the Peak. gutenberg.org
   • The first-edition title page is dated 1822. The book was actually published on 7 January 1823; under the requested title-page convention, use 1822. walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk
   • The quoted words occur in the novel's narration. gutenberg.org
4. 4
   drinks for allnouncountable

   A serving of something, one portion to each person in a group.

   He bought a round for the whole bar.

   After the game, Mark bought a round of drinks for the whole team.

   UsageOften buy a round of drinks; it's my round means I pay this time.

   Note

   Rod Stewart's 1978 song has a man turn and buy the woman another round. Dickens stretches it to food in Dombey and Son, with "rounds of buttered toast." A round goes to everyone present, so buying one means paying for the whole group, not just yourself.

5. 5
   boxing periodnouncountable

   One of the fixed segments of time in a contest such as a boxing or wrestling match, during which the contestants fight.

   The bell ends the round.

   Championship bouts are scheduled for twelve rounds.

   UsagePlaced with ordinals: in the fourth round. A fight goes twelve rounds.

   Note

   A unit of time, not of progress. A boxing or wrestling match is cut into fixed rounds, each ended by a signal to stop. A round of a fight is a segment inside one contest, while a round of a tournament contains whole contests. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Boxing matches are divided into rounds of fixed duration. iba.sport
   • Wrestling matches can likewise be divided into timed rounds. wwe.com
   • A signal marks the end of a boxing round. iba.sport
   • Tournament rounds comprise whole contests, whereas fight rounds are subdivisions of a contest. en.wikipedia.org
6. 6
   bulletnouncountable

   A firearm cartridge, bullet or other single projectile.

   A single round was found in the chamber.

   The magazine holds thirty rounds.

   UsageA common counting word: thirty rounds, fire three rounds, a round of ammunition.

   Similarbullet, cartridge, shell

   Note

   The name outlived the shape. It first meant the ball fired from a smoothbore gun, the same idea as in round shot. It stayed on for cartridges and bullets that are no longer spherical. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The ammunition sense originally referred to a spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore firearm. en.wiktionary.org
   • Round shot is a spherical projectile. en.wikipedia.org
7. 7
   fill outverbtransitive

   With out, to finish or complete something, or fill it out.

   Two more signings would round out the squad.

   A green salad and some warm bread rounded out the meal nicely.

   UsageSeparable phrasal verb: round out the cast, round it out.

   Similarcomplete, finish, conclude

   Note

   Shakespeare uses the bare verb in The Tempest, "our little life / Is rounded with a sleep," a life completed and closed by sleep. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The quotation occurs in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, spoken by Prospero; its wording and line break are accurate. folger.edu
   • The quotation illustrates round without out in the sense of completing something. en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   wholeadjective

   Complete or whole, with nothing lacking.

   The box held a round dozen eggs, with not a single one missing.

   He paid a round thousand for the horse.

   UsageMostly in a round dozen, a round hundred, a round thousand.

   Similarfull, whole, complete

   Note

   Here the circle stands for wholeness, since a circle has no gap in it. A round dozen is a full twelve with nothing short, and a round thousand is the whole sum. The sense survives mostly in such fixed phrases with numbers.

9. 9
   golf circuitnouncountable

   In golf, showjumping and similar sports, one complete circuit of the course.

   A round takes about four hours.

   She shot two rounds under par.

   UsagePlay a round of golf; in showjumping, a horse jumps a clear round.

   Note

   Here the round is a circuit, not a stage. A round of golf is normally the whole course played once, start to finish, and showjumping uses the word the same way for one ride over the course. In a golf tournament, rounds can also mark the stages of the competition, so context decides which one is meant. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • A round can comprise fewer holes than the whole course; the committee determines the holes to be played. kygolf.org
10. 10
    cyclenouncountable

    A series of events, tasks, or activities that is regularly repeated; a cycle or routine.

    She loved watching the round of the seasons, from spring through winter and back again.

    The whole sad round of boom and bust began again that spring.

    UsageUsually with of: the round of the seasons, a round of parties.

    Similarcycle, routine, circle, succession

    Note

    Time pictured as a circle: the round of the seasons, a round of pleasures. Mathilde Blind, in 1889, finds a dell of hyacinths "on life's long round," a whole life pictured as one circuit. The same word also covers a fixed set of duties done in turn and then begun again. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Mathilde Blind's poem containing the quotation was published in 1889, in the first edition of The Ascent of Man. gutenberg.org
    • Blind's poem uses the words “on life's long round” and describes finding a dell containing hyacinths. gutenberg.org
11. 11
    circle piecenouncountable

    An object, or a section of one, with a circular or spherical form.

    Use a glass to cut a neat round from the rolled-out dough.

    She sliced the zucchini into thin rounds and laid them on the baking tray.

    UsageOften in cut or sliced into rounds, or a round of cheese.

    Similarcircle, disc, slice, rung

    Note

    The shape turned into a thing, often a flat disc rather than a ball. Golding's sun in The Inheritors (1955) is "a round of dulled silver," and Milton's labyrinth is made "of many a round self-rolled." Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • William Golding wrote The Inheritors. en.wikipedia.org
    • The Inheritors was first published in 1955. william-golding.co.uk
    • The Inheritors describes the sun as “a round of dulled silver.” en.wiktionary.org
    • Milton uses “of many a round self-rolled” to describe a labyrinth formed by the sleeping serpent's coils in Paradise Lost. en.wikisource.org
12. 12
    there and backadjective

    Returning to its starting point.

    Buying a round trip ticket is usually cheaper than buying two one-way tickets.

    The trail is a five-mile round trip that ends where it starts.

    UsageMostly in round trip, also before a noun: a round-trip ticket.

    Similarcircular

    Oppositeone-way

13. 13
    make curvedverbtransitive

    To make something curve or bend into a rounded shape.

    The carpenter used sandpaper to round the table's corners so the kids wouldn't get hurt.

    The stones were rounded by centuries of water.

    UsageOften round off corners or edges. The participle rounded works as an ordinary adjective.

    Similarcurl, curve, smooth, bend

    Note

    The verb of shaping, and it often turns back on its subject: Bacon's worms "round themselves into balls." Addison, in his dialogues on medals published in 1721, pairs it with raised for the relief on medals.

14. 14
    regular routenouncountable

    A circular or repetitious route.

    The guard's round took him past every door in the building twice a night.

    He did his rounds of the pubs every Friday.

    UsageMostly plural for a job: do the rounds, make the rounds, hospital rounds.

    Similarcircuit, tour, beat, route

    Note

    W. B. Maxwell, in 1918, has a man work like a sleepwalker "who walks safely on a well-known round." Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • W. B. Maxwell's relevant work, The Mirror and the Lamp, was published in 1918. en.wikisource.org
    • Maxwell's narration compares a man working mechanically to a sleepwalker “who walks safely on a well-known round.” en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    turn (corner)verbtransitive

    To go around something such as a corner, an obstacle, a person, or (in baseball) a base.

    She rounded two defenders and shot.

    If you round the goalkeeper, the net is empty.

    Similarpass, skirt

    Note

    Football's verb for beating a player by going around rather than through them. A 2011 BBC report has Diouf, who "rounded Zaluska near the byeline," crossing the ball afterward. In football the object is usually an opponent, while elsewhere it can be a corner, a cape or a base. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The BBC report was published in 2011. en.wiktionary.org
    • The report describes Diouf rounding Zaluska near the byeline and then crossing, with the quoted wording reproduced accurately. en.wiktionary.org
16. 16
    surroundingpreposition

    Another form of around: on every side of, curving past, or moving about in. Less common in American English.

    A delivery van came round the corner much too fast.

    The serpent Error twines round human hearts.

    1782, William Cowper, The Progress of Error

    Note

    The short form covers the same ground as around: looking round a room, a scarf wound round the neck, a café somewhere round here. It has a long life in writing. William Cowper, in The Progress of Error (1782), has the serpent Error twine round human hearts. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • William Cowper's The Progress of Error was first published in 1782, in his Poems. eighteenthcenturypoetry.org
    • The poem depicts Error as a serpent twining round human hearts, confirming the historical written use of round. eighteenthcenturypoetry.org
17. 17
    plumpadjective

    Having a plump, full shape; slightly fat, with soft curves.

    The chef was a cheerful, round little man who clearly enjoyed his own cooking.

    The park's pigeons were round and well fed, thanks to the tourists.

    Similarplump, chubby, rotund, portly, tubby

    Oppositethin, slim, skinny

18. 18
    slice of breadnounUKcountable

    A single slice cut from a loaf of bread.

    He cut a thick round of bread and wiped his plate clean with it.

    Dad buttered four rounds of toast while the kettle boiled.

    UsageCounts slices: two rounds of toast. A round of drinks is something different.

    Similarslice

19. 19
    curved edgesadjective

    Curving gently rather than coming to sharp angles or corners.

    The phone's round corners make it comfortable to hold.

    The architect favored round, flowing lines over the hard angles of the older buildings.

    Similarcurved

    Oppositeangular, sharp

20. 20
    sandwichnouncountable

    A single sandwich, made by putting a filling between two whole slices of bread.

    For lunch he packed a single round of cheese sandwiches and an apple.

    The caterer allowed two rounds of sandwiches per guest, each cut into quarters.

    UsageUsually a round of sandwiches, often cut into halves or quarters.

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