round

pronunciation

How to pronounce round in British English: UK [raʊnd] word uk audio image

How to pronounce round in American English: US [raʊnd] word us audio image

Noun:

a charge of ammunition for a single shot
an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs
a regular route for a sentry or policeman
(often plural) a series of professional calls (usually in a set order)
the activity of playing 18 holes of golf
the usual activities in your day
(sports) a period of play during which one team is on the offensive
the course along which communications spread
a serving to each of a group (usually alcoholic)
a cut of beef between the rump and the lower leg
a partsong in which voices follow each other; one voice starts and others join in one after another until all are singing different parts of the song at the same time
an outburst of applause
a crosspiece between the legs of a chair
any circular or rotating mechanism
Verb:

wind around; move along a circular course
make round
be around
pronounce with rounded lips
attack in speech or writing
bring to a highly developed, finished, or refined state
express as a round number
become round, plump, or shapely
Adjective:

having a circular shape
(of sounds) full and rich
(of numbers) to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousand
Adverb:

from beginning to end; throughout

Word Origin

round: round: [13] Round goes back ultimately to Latin rotundus ‘round’, source of English rotund. In Vulgar Latin this became *retundus, which passed into Old French as reont, later ront. Its stem form rond- gave English round. Derivatives to have reached English include prune ‘cut branches’, rondo [18], roundel [13], and roundelay [16]; but surround, despite the similarity, is not related.=> rota, rotund

round (adj.): late 13c., from Anglo-French rounde, Old French roont (12c., Modern French rond), probably originally *redond, from Vulgar Latin *retundus (source also of Provençal redon, Spanish redondo, Old Italian ritondo), from Latin rotundus "like a wheel, circular, round," related to rota "wheel" (see rotary). As an adverb from c. 1300; as a preposition from c. 1600. In many uses it is a shortened form of around. The French word is the source of Middle Dutch ront (Dutch rond), Middle High German runt (German rund) and similar Germanic words. Of numbers from mid-14c., from earlier sense "full, complete, brought to completion" (mid-14c., notion of symmetry extended to that of completeness). First record of round trip is from 1844, originally of railways. Round heels attested from 1926, in reference to incompetent boxers, 1927 in reference to loose women, in either case implying an inability to avoid ending up flat on one's back.

round (n.): early 14c., "a spherical body," from round (adj.) and Old French roond. Compare Dutch rond, Danish and Swedish rund, German runde, all nouns from adjectives. Meaning "large round piece of beef" is recorded from 1650s. Theatrical sense (in phrase in the round) is recorded from 1944. Sense of "circuit performed by a sentinel" is from 1590s; that of "recurring course of time" is from 1710. Meaning "song sung by two or more, beginning at different times" is from 1520s. Golfing sense attested from 1775. Meaning "quantity of liquor served to a company at one time" is from 1630s; that of "single bout in a fight or boxing match" is from 1812; "single discharge of a firearm" is from 1725. Sense of "recurring session of meetings or negotiations" is from 1964.

round (v.): late 14c., "to make round," from round (adj.). Sense of "make a circuit round" is from 1590s. Sense of "bring to completeness" is from c. 1600; meaning "to approximate (a number)" is from 1934. Meaning "turn round and face, turn on and assault" is from 1882. Round out "fill up" is from 1856. Related: Rounded; rounding.

adj.

adj.