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

• 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

Researchers had 39 participants engage in a round-robin speed-dating experiment. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

This is when fans can submit ticket applications for individual group-stage matches (the tournament’s opening round in which groups of teams face off round-robin–style before the teams with the best records advance to the single-elimination knockout-round bracket). —Meredith Heil Bock, AFAR Media, 8 Sep. 2025

In April, World Sevens held its first event in Estoril, Portugal, which featured two days of round-robin group play among eight teams followed by a single-day knockout tournament. —Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Saturday and Sunday mark the end of a year-long gauntlet across qualifying, regional and round-robin brackets. —Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 23 Aug. 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