around 1 of 3

preposition

Definition of aroundnext
1
as in near
close to I wouldn't stand around those rocks—there could be snakes under them

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in throughout
in random positions within the boundaries of huge, strangely shaped rocks were scattered around the canyon floor

Synonyms & Similar Words

around

2 of 3

adverb

ə-ˈrau̇nd How to pronounce around (audio)
1
as in about
on all sides or in every direction he looked around butterflies were flying all around

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in back
toward the opposite direction she turned around and saw him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in close
at, within, or to a short distance or time our dog usually stays around our yard he'll be getting in around 6:00

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in through
from beginning to end a team that plays all year around

Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in approximately
close to but not exactly there's around a hundred books still left to be packed in boxes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in everywhere
in one place and another while typewriters can still be seen around, they are no longer the common office fixtures they once were

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

around

3 of 3

adjective

as in existing
having being at the present time she's generally regarded as one of the most talented singers around

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of around
Preposition
Yoko said her daughter simply tried to prevent an agitated resident from biting others by putting her hand around the person’s chin. — Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026 Events are centered around the equinoxes and solstices, and last four nights. — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Oct. 2026
Adverb
So bend the strip around and glue those edges together, matching the labels. — Alex Stone, Quanta Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026 The Exit Planning Institute notes a typical owner has around 80% of their net worth tied up in the business. — Ron Smith, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Adjective
When a bat population crashes, fewer bats are around to eat bothersome insects. — The Conversation, Fortune, 14 May 2026 Winfrey isn’t the only fan of the kicks—they’re backed by podiatrists thanks to their ample arch support, plush insoles, and all-around comfort. — Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 30 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for around
  1. near
  2. throughout
  3. about
  4. back
  5. close
  6. through
  7. approximately
  8. everywhere
Preposition
  • What Bono didn’t say is how many cheap seats near the stage U2 actually offers.
    — James LaForge, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The truck drives south, then west on Highway 46 through fields of almond trees and roses, before disappearing into an industrial zone near the farming center of Wasco.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of near
Preposition
  • Multiple flying insects throughout entire food service space.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • She had been connected to a major transnational drug trafficking network active along the southern Arizona border throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
    — Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of throughout
Adverb
  • Baltzor and her husband Keith, had just finished riding a bunch of about 150 hundred head of their cattle down Highway 205 on horseback from another pasture.
    — Anna King, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Thanks to a demolition crew’s early Saturday morning implosion, an 18-story office tower that has hung over Clairmont Road in Chamblee for about five decades has been reduced to rubble.
    — Savannah Sicurella, AJC.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of about
Adverb
  • Nebraska native Sydney Loofe was looking for love, or at least for some fun, while scrolling through Tinder back in 2017.
    — Samantha Bergeson, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The drums are constantly switching, the gait galloping one way and then swerving back again, as if the music could go anywhere.
    — Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of back
Adverb
  • That gives the Chiefs a credible path to keeping this close or winning outright.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The Royals could also decline All-Star closer Carlos Estévez’s club option.
    — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of close
Adverb
  • Each round of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, is timed to a menstrual cycle, and doctors sometimes stop a round partway through, such as when the ovaries don’t respond as expected to medication.
    — Katherine Pukinskis, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The boys frolic in the sand, playfully wrestle with each other, and drive an orange camper van; some young women join the fun midway through, running across the dunes alongside the group.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of through
Adverb
  • The chart shared by NASA showed Orion docking with the Blue Moon lander in an elliptical lunar orbit, approximately 8,500 km above the Moon’s surface.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Even as the sense of a hazy disturbance in the force lingers, Burkholder’s approximately three-minute statement at least demystified some of the curious situation.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of approximately
Adverb
  • While parts of the Southwest are rocky with little vegetation and are naturally prone to flash flooding, the recent rains made flooding everywhere more likely.
    — MEAD GRUVER, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Inside, a large stone fireplace connects an open-plan living area and dining room; there’s wood paneling everywhere, and more than one piece of rustic log furniture to really cement that cabin feel.
    — Lindsay Cohn, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of everywhere

Phrases Containing around

Browse Nearby Words

arose
around
around the bend
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/around. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All