round-robin

noun

round-rob·​in ˈrau̇nd-ˌrä-bən 

1

a

: a written petition, memorial, or protest to which the signatures are affixed in a circle so as not to indicate who signed first

b

: a statement signed by several persons

c

: something (such as a letter) sent in turn to the members of a group each of whom signs and forwards it sometimes after adding comment

2

: roundtable sense 1

3

: a tournament in which every contestant meets every other contestant in turn

4

: series, round

Synonyms of round-robin

• seminar
• symposium
• conference
• panel

Examples of round-robin in a Sentence

a round-robin to discuss the epidemic of performance-enhancing drugs plaguing professional sports

Recent Examples on the Web

With one player seeking to build on an impressive comeback and the other entering their farewell year, Switzerland’s United Cup team has taken the competition by storm in the early stages of the round-robin. —The Athletic Tennis Staff, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026

The division had a round-robin format without a championship game. —Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 5 Jan. 2026

This game will determine the winner of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which goes to the winner of the annual round-robin competition of Army, Navy and Air Force. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 13 Dec. 2025

Wasch says the league would like to build even more urgency around the earlier round-robin games. —Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 12 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from the name Robin

First Known Use

1698, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for round-robin

• globin
• haemoglobin
• hemoglobin
• myoglobin

Kids Definition

round-robin

noun

ˈrau̇n-ˌdräb-ən

1

: a letter (as of protest) whose signers put their signatures in a circle so the receiver cannot tell who signed first

2

: a tournament in which every contestant plays once against every other contestant