roundabout

1 of 2

adjective

round·​about ˈrau̇n-də-ˌbau̇t How to pronounce roundabout (audio)
: circuitous, indirect
had to take a roundabout route
roundaboutness noun

roundabout

2 of 2

noun

1
: a circuitous route : detour
2
British : merry-go-round
3
: a short close-fitting jacket worn by men and boys especially in the 19th century
4

Examples of roundabout in a Sentence

Adjective He took a roundabout route to town. In a roundabout way, he told me that my help was not wanted.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The lander is on a roundabout route to the moon, with the company aiming to touch down on the lunar surface Feb. 23. Denise Chow, NBC News, 8 Jan. 2024 Perhaps that second song is Swift’s roundabout way of flipping the tables on Sweeney, revealing his whereabouts. Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2024 Agnostic but empathetic, Wilson’s film suggests communing with the dead may just be a roundabout way of reaching the living. Guy Lodge, Variety, 25 Jan. 2024 Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge There’s a reason Withings opted for such a roundabout approach. Victoria Song, The Verge, 31 Aug. 2023 Before, investors had to go through cryptocurrency trading firms like Coinbase that charged transaction fees or had to buy financial products that tried to approximate the price of bitcoin in more roundabout ways. Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2024 Photograph: Charm Industrial In a roundabout way, coal is solar-powered. Matt Simon, WIRED, 10 Jan. 2024 But getting those aircraft built would be a roundabout journey, starting with a detour into professional ice hockey. IEEE Spectrum, 16 Oct. 2023 For Kaufman and Rubenstein, getting noticed in roundabout ways is kind of a thing. Ken Armstrong, ProPublica, 22 Nov. 2023
Noun
Approved by the California Coastal Commission earlier this month, the plan calls for adding dedicated bike lanes, mid-block crosswalks and roundabouts. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2024 These roads will be closed for the parade: Swan Boulevard will be closed just south of West Meinecke Avenue and at the roundabout south of Underwood Parkway. Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 19 Feb. 2024 The county is also building a similar roundabout and overpass intersection at 146th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway for $32 million. John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Feb. 2024 The Orange County Public Schools bus was stopped at a roundabout Tuesday when Elyas Marshall Rodriguez, 9, got off, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release. Antonio Planas, NBC News, 18 Jan. 2024 The plan includes the replacement of traffic signals with roundabouts at as many as 12 intersections, although approvals for specific locations would require additional approvals from the Oceanside City Council and other local, regional and state agencies. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Feb. 2024 Proposals for overhauls came and went — from over/underpasses to lane reductions to building a roundabout with a fountain in the center. Matt Leclercq, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Feb. 2024 Pending approval, a roundabout is scheduled for the intersection of Seven Mile and Sheldon in Northville — once completed in the fall of 2025 this will be the first roundabout in Wayne County. Detroit Free Press, 5 Feb. 2024 The bus was stopped at a roundabout at the apartment complex when the Lawton Chiles Elementary student, whose name has not been released by authorities, crawled underneath, per WFTV and CBS affiliate WKMG-TV. Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 17 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'roundabout.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1608, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1734, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of roundabout was in 1608

Dictionary Entries Near roundabout

Cite this Entry

“Roundabout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roundabout. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

roundabout

adjective
round·​about
ˈrau̇n-də-ˌbau̇t
: not direct
went a roundabout way

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