1
a(1)
: having every part of the surface or circumference equidistant from the center
(2)
: cylindrical
a round peg
b
: approximately round
a round face
3
4
: direct in utterance : outspoken
a round denunciation
5
: moving in or forming a circle
6
a
: brought to completion or perfection : finished
b
: presented with lifelike fullness or vividness
7
: delivered with a swing of the arm
a round blow
8
a
: having full or unimpeded resonance or tone : sonorous
b
: pronounced with rounded lips : labialized
9
: of or relating to handwriting predominantly curved rather than angular
1
a
: something (such as a circle, globe, or ring) that is round
b(1)
: a knot of people
(2)
: a circle of things
3
: a musical canon in which each part begins on the same note and is continuously repeated
4
a
: a rung of a ladder or a chair
b
: a rounded molding
5
a
: a circling or circuitous path or course
b
: motion in a circle or a curving path
6
a
: a route or circuit habitually covered (as by a security guard or police officer)
b
: a series of similar or customary calls or stops
They were always together, fighting to cure paralysis. An endless round of fundraisers, Congressional testimony.—
Diane Sawyer
—often used in pluralDiane SawyerYou see, in election time local politicians, aspirants for office, have a way of making the rounds of the saloons to get votes.—Jack London
Jack London… no one … was surprised to see him making the TV news rounds within hours of his announced termination …—Kristi Owram
Kristi Owram
especially
: a series of regularly scheduled professional calls on hospital patients made by a doctor or nurse
—usually used in plural
… if laboratory test results are not available to physicians when they make their routine morning rounds, they may have to delay patient management, repeat their rounds at a later time, and perhaps prolong their patients' hospital stays. —David A. Novis and Jane C. Dale
David A. Novis and Jane C. Dale 7
: a drink of liquor apiece served at one time to each person in a group
I'll buy the next round
8
: a sequence of recurring routine or repetitive actions or events
went about my round of chores
the newest round of talks
9
: a period of time that recurs in a fixed pattern
the daily round
10
a
: one shot fired by a weapon or by each man in a military unit
b
: a unit of ammunition consisting of the parts necessary to fire one shot
11
a
: a unit of action in a contest or game which comprises a stated period, covers a prescribed distance, includes a specified number of plays, or gives each player one turn
b
: a division of a tournament in which each contestant plays an opponent
12
: a prolonged burst (as of applause)
13
a
: a cut of meat (such as beef) especially between the rump and the lower leg see beef illustration
b
: a slice of food
a round of bread
14
: a rounded or curved part
rounded; rounding; rounds
1
2
a
b
: to pass part of the way around
4
: to bring to completion or perfection
—often used with off or out
5
: to express as a round number
—often used with off
11.3572 rounded off to two decimal places becomes 11.36
1
a
: to become round, plump, or shapely
b
: to reach fullness or completion
2
: to follow a winding course : bend
1
: around
2
: all during : throughout
round the year
rounded; rounding; rounds
Synonyms
Examples of round in a Sentence
Adjective
The baby has a round face.
the owl's big, round eyes
a shirt with a round collar
Adverb
people working there all year round
gather round and listen to my story
Noun
a round of steel to reinforce the wooden beam
a busy round of parties during the holiday season
Preposition
talked to voters round the city
Recent Examples on the WebRuben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The Rockets went on to win the last game of the regular season, which saw the fourth-seed Clippers resting star players Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook in anticipation of their first round playoff matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on April 21.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
Red radishes are round and have red skin and white flesh.
—Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health, 13 Apr. 2024
Meats include pork shoulder, beef brisket, beef eye of round, beef chunk, beef rib-eye, wagyu and Australian lamb leg.
—Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2024
Other great reads Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ comes ‘round, ‘round, ‘round this week.
—Christian Orozco, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
The round tower and walls made up what is believed to be a warehouse district in the port city, archaeologists said.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
Thanks to its array of attachments—from a round brush to a paddle one—there are endless ways to style your hair with the Shark FlexStyle.
—Kylee McGuigan, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2024
Valle Central, Chile, $15 Soft and round, with flavors of peach and a hint of sweetness on the finish, this is basic, good chardonnay.
—Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024
Essence Editors, Essence, 17 Apr. 2024
Turkeys are particularly fond of bugs as food in the spring but will eat them year round.
—Kris Millgate, Field & Stream, 11 Apr. 2024
Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe are joining the haunted house huddle for this go round.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne and Aubrey Plaza round out the cast.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024
For even though Jefferson soundly defeated the incumbent on his second go round, an awkward electoral college tie between Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, delayed his victory and led almost immediately to the ratification of the 12th amendment.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
It was erected in an era when many other cities had built round, cookie-cutter stadiums.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
Coming off an impressive season last time round, the 21-year-old has really flourished in this year’s March Madness, scoring 30, 23 and 27 points in the opening three games of the tournament.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 6 Apr. 2024
Cleveland won round two, becoming (as yet) the only person to return to the White House after losing the office.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2024
McKenzie Forbes, a former Folsom High School basketball standout who dazzled fans with an arsenal of tricky ball-handling skills and sharp-shooting, was the No. 4 pick selected in the third round of the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday.
—Marcus D. Smith, Sacramento Bee, 19 Apr. 2024
The Warriors were the 10th best team in the Western Conference this year and got eliminated in the play-in round.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Now the Kings get a rematch with Edmonton, who beat them three times in four games this season and eliminated them in the opening round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
With the draft merely days away, there’s still no clear idea of what the Broncos will do at No. 12 overall in the first round.
—Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2024
Miami only has six picks in the draft and none in the third or fourth rounds.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
The first round of voting for the Country Power Players’ Choice Award is now open with an open call for nominees and will run through April 14.
—Taylor Mims, Billboard, 8 Apr. 2024
It’s been nearly a decade since the Rams selected a player in the first round of the NFL draft.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2024
Others are sea coins, which are the bottoms of old bottles that have been perfectly rounded into flawless circles of glass.
—Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Tennessee — one of the states the Great River Road passes through — rounds out the top three at 94.2%.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 4 Apr. 2024
A couple of sandwiches, sliders, soft pretzels and nachos will round out the food menu.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2024
Vergara skipped the necklace, choosing instead to round out the look with a pair of gold bangles on each wrist and oversized sunglasses.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 27 Mar. 2024
The new Cosmic Bloom is tropical, with mandarin citrus flavors, refreshing kiwi essence and a passionfruit punch to round it all out.
—Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
The fruit in two forms adds exciting texture and tart-sweetness to round out the flavors of the dish.
—Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024
The team will also get about $18 million in cap space from cornerback Xavien Howard’s post-June 1 release, funds that could be used to round out the roster before training camp opens in late July.
—Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
The Eagles lost in the area round last season, their first campaign in Class 5A.
SGP heads to state with win over Boswell
Boswell girls basketball upset No. 2 Hebron on Friday but met its match in the Class 6A regional final.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Feb. 2024
Then this year, in early January, the blowout of a main cabin door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight, 16,000 feet over Portland, Ore., shortly after takeoff, sounded a boom heard round the world.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
Most companies hire freelancers all across the globe to be able to provide essay writing services round the clock and in any timezone.
—Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024
My girls live in theirs round the clock, wearing them to school, to practices, and on weekends.
—Chaunie Brusie, Rn, Parents, 13 Mar. 2024
The blowout heard round the world amounted to an open invitation for the DOJ to examine whether lax safety procedures the pact was supposed to fix triggered the new disaster.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024
San Francisco sat out the wild card round thanks to securing the top seed in Week 17 of the regular season.
—Ayrton Ostly, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024
Kevin dropped onto his heels and went round the side of the house.
—Thomas Korsgaard, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
Brian Manzullo, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2023
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett round out the ranking’s top five.
—Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2023
Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis round out the adventurers with Hugh Grant taking a villainous turn and without a red carpet in sight.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2023
Minnesota, Vermont, Washington and New Hampshire round out the top five, which points to states with scenic outdoor areas and active populations living longer lives.
—L'oreal Thompson Payton, Fortune Well, 1 Apr. 2023
Other cider-centric events will round out the 10 days, including bingo night, a cupcake-and-cider pairing, and a single varietal cider night, then culminating with the Hillsboro Hops’ pre-opening game party on April 10.
—oregonlive, 31 Mar. 2023
Nashville studio musicians Ethan Pilzer and Rich Redmond will round out the lineup on bass and drums.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 30 Mar. 2023
On the hunt for simple and beautiful Easter egg designs to round out your Easter decorations on April 9?
—Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 28 Mar. 2023
Elevated leather slides, perfect for an outdoor beach dinner are now 58 percent off, and athletic Under Armour sandals ready for the pool will round your vacation footwear perfectly.
—Gabrielle Porcaro, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2023
Adjective
The Vietnamese product, in a small, round green container, is called Cao Bôi Trĩ Cây Thầu Dầu (Castor Oil Hemorrhoid Extract).
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The Rockets went on to win the last game of the regular season, which saw the fourth-seed Clippers resting star players Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook in anticipation of their first round playoff matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on April 21.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
Red radishes are round and have red skin and white flesh.
—Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health, 13 Apr. 2024
Meats include pork shoulder, beef brisket, beef eye of round, beef chunk, beef rib-eye, wagyu and Australian lamb leg.
—Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2024
Other great reads Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ comes ‘round, ‘round, ‘round this week.
—Christian Orozco, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
The round tower and walls made up what is believed to be a warehouse district in the port city, archaeologists said.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
Thanks to its array of attachments—from a round brush to a paddle one—there are endless ways to style your hair with the Shark FlexStyle.
—Kylee McGuigan, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2024
Valle Central, Chile, $15 Soft and round, with flavors of peach and a hint of sweetness on the finish, this is basic, good chardonnay.
—Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024
Adverb
This recent funding round not only furthers this overarching objective but also broadens their network by extending membership opportunities to accommodate an even greater number of brands seeking support and community to propel their expansion efforts.
—Essence Editors, Essence, 17 Apr. 2024
Turkeys are particularly fond of bugs as food in the spring but will eat them year round.
—Kris Millgate, Field & Stream, 11 Apr. 2024
Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe are joining the haunted house huddle for this go round.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne and Aubrey Plaza round out the cast.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024
For even though Jefferson soundly defeated the incumbent on his second go round, an awkward electoral college tie between Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, delayed his victory and led almost immediately to the ratification of the 12th amendment.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
It was erected in an era when many other cities had built round, cookie-cutter stadiums.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
Coming off an impressive season last time round, the 21-year-old has really flourished in this year’s March Madness, scoring 30, 23 and 27 points in the opening three games of the tournament.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 6 Apr. 2024
Cleveland won round two, becoming (as yet) the only person to return to the White House after losing the office.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
This time, the Heat and Celtics will meet in the first round.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2024
McKenzie Forbes, a former Folsom High School basketball standout who dazzled fans with an arsenal of tricky ball-handling skills and sharp-shooting, was the No. 4 pick selected in the third round of the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday.
—Marcus D. Smith, Sacramento Bee, 19 Apr. 2024
The Warriors were the 10th best team in the Western Conference this year and got eliminated in the play-in round.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Now the Kings get a rematch with Edmonton, who beat them three times in four games this season and eliminated them in the opening round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
With the draft merely days away, there’s still no clear idea of what the Broncos will do at No. 12 overall in the first round.
—Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2024
Miami only has six picks in the draft and none in the third or fourth rounds.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
The first round of voting for the Country Power Players’ Choice Award is now open with an open call for nominees and will run through April 14.
—Taylor Mims, Billboard, 8 Apr. 2024
It’s been nearly a decade since the Rams selected a player in the first round of the NFL draft.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Verb
There are also notes of black pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, peach, and bright citrus on the palate that round it out and add complexity.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2024
Others are sea coins, which are the bottoms of old bottles that have been perfectly rounded into flawless circles of glass.
—Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Tennessee — one of the states the Great River Road passes through — rounds out the top three at 94.2%.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 4 Apr. 2024
A couple of sandwiches, sliders, soft pretzels and nachos will round out the food menu.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2024
Vergara skipped the necklace, choosing instead to round out the look with a pair of gold bangles on each wrist and oversized sunglasses.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 27 Mar. 2024
The new Cosmic Bloom is tropical, with mandarin citrus flavors, refreshing kiwi essence and a passionfruit punch to round it all out.
—Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
The fruit in two forms adds exciting texture and tart-sweetness to round out the flavors of the dish.
—Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024
The team will also get about $18 million in cap space from cornerback Xavien Howard’s post-June 1 release, funds that could be used to round out the roster before training camp opens in late July.
—Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
Preposition
And there are castles round the world happy to oblige.
—Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
The Eagles lost in the area round last season, their first campaign in Class 5A.
SGP heads to state with win over Boswell
Boswell girls basketball upset No. 2 Hebron on Friday but met its match in the Class 6A regional final.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Feb. 2024
Then this year, in early January, the blowout of a main cabin door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight, 16,000 feet over Portland, Ore., shortly after takeoff, sounded a boom heard round the world.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
Most companies hire freelancers all across the globe to be able to provide essay writing services round the clock and in any timezone.
—Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024
My girls live in theirs round the clock, wearing them to school, to practices, and on weekends.
—Chaunie Brusie, Rn, Parents, 13 Mar. 2024
The blowout heard round the world amounted to an open invitation for the DOJ to examine whether lax safety procedures the pact was supposed to fix triggered the new disaster.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024
San Francisco sat out the wild card round thanks to securing the top seed in Week 17 of the regular season.
—Ayrton Ostly, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024
Kevin dropped onto his heels and went round the side of the house.
—Thomas Korsgaard, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
Verb
Illinois, Colorado and Missouri round out the top five.
—Brian Manzullo, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2023
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett round out the ranking’s top five.
—Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2023
Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis round out the adventurers with Hugh Grant taking a villainous turn and without a red carpet in sight.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2023
Minnesota, Vermont, Washington and New Hampshire round out the top five, which points to states with scenic outdoor areas and active populations living longer lives.
—L'oreal Thompson Payton, Fortune Well, 1 Apr. 2023
Other cider-centric events will round out the 10 days, including bingo night, a cupcake-and-cider pairing, and a single varietal cider night, then culminating with the Hillsboro Hops’ pre-opening game party on April 10.
—oregonlive, 31 Mar. 2023
Nashville studio musicians Ethan Pilzer and Rich Redmond will round out the lineup on bass and drums.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 30 Mar. 2023
On the hunt for simple and beautiful Easter egg designs to round out your Easter decorations on April 9?
—Charlyne Mattox, Country Living, 28 Mar. 2023
Elevated leather slides, perfect for an outdoor beach dinner are now 58 percent off, and athletic Under Armour sandals ready for the pool will round your vacation footwear perfectly.
—Gabrielle Porcaro, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'round.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to round
Dictionary Entries Near round
Cite this Entry
“Round.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/round. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
round
1 of 5 adjective1
a
: having every part of the surface or circumference the same distance from the center
b
: shaped like a cylinder
a round peg
c
: nearly round
a round face
2
3
a
: complete entry 1 sense 1
a round dozen
b
: nearly correct or exact to a certain decimal place
use the round number 1400 for the exact figure 1411
c
: large
a good round sum
4
: moving in or forming a circle
5
: having lifelike fullness
a round character in a story
6
: having fullness of tone
7
: having curves rather than angles
roundish
adjective
ˈrau̇n-dish
round
2 of 5 adverbround
3 of 5 noun1
: something (as a circle, globe, or ring) that is round
2
: a song in which three or four singers sing the same melody and words one after another at intervals
3
4
: an indirect or circling path
5
a
: a regularly covered route
a watchman's rounds
b
: a series of calls or stops regularly made
a doctor on her rounds in the hospital
6
: a drink apiece served at one time to each person in a group
7
: a series or cycle of repeated actions or events
opened a new round of disarmament talks
8
a
: one shot fired by a soldier or weapon
b
: ammunition for one shot
9
: a unit of play in a contest or game
a round of golf
10
: a cut of beef especially between the rump and the lower leg
round
4 of 5 verb1
a
: to make or become round
b
: to pronounce a sound with rounding of the lips
2
: to go or pass around
rounded the curve
3
: to bring to completion
—often used with off or out
4
: to express as a round number
especially
: to drop any digits to the right of a given decimal place and increase the last remaining digit by 1 if the first dropped digit is 5 or greater
4.57268 rounded off to three decimal places is 4.573
5
: to follow a winding course
round
5 of 5 preposition(ˈ)rau̇nd
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