Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Round

Round

,
Verb.
I.
&
T.
[From
Roun
.]
To whisper.
[obs.]
Shak. Holland.
The Bishop of Glasgow
rounding
in his ear, “Ye are not a wise man,” . . . he
rounded
likewise to the bishop, and said, “Wherefore brought ye me here?”
Calderwood.

Round

,
Adj.
[OF.
roond
,
roont
,
reond
, F.
rond
, fr. L.
rotundus
, fr.
rota
wheel. See
Rotary
, and cf.
Rotund
,
roundel
,
Rundlet
.]
1.
Having every portion of the surface or of the circumference equally distant from the center; spherical; circular; having a form approaching a spherical or a circular shape; orbicular; globular;
as, a
round
ball
.
“The big, round tears.”
Shak.
Upon the firm opacous globe
Of this
round
world.
Milton.
2.
Having the form of a cylinder; cylindrical;
as, the barrel of a musket is
round
.
3.
Having a curved outline or form; especially, one like the arc of a circle or an ellipse, or a portion of the surface of a sphere; rotund; bulging; protuberant; not angular or pointed;
as, a
round
arch;
round
hills.
“Their round haunches gored.”
Shak.
4.
Full; complete; not broken; not fractional; approximately in even units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.; – said of numbers.
Pliny put a
round
number near the truth, rather than the fraction.
Arbuthnot.
5.
Not inconsiderable; large; hence, generous; free;
as, a
round
price
.
Three thousand ducats; ’tis a good
round
sum.
Shakespeare
Round
was their pace at first, but slackened soon.
Tennyson.
6.
Uttered or emitted with a full tone;
as, a
round
voice; a
round
note.
7.
(Phonetics)
Modified, as a vowel, by contraction of the lip opening, making the opening more or less round in shape; rounded; labialized; labial. See Guide to Pronunciation, § 11.
8.
Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; unqualified; not mincing;
as, a
round
answer; a
round
oath.
“The round assertion.”
M. Arnold.
Sir Toby, I must be
round
with you.
Shakespeare
9.
Full and smoothly expanded; not defective or abrupt; finished; polished; – said of style, or of authors with reference to their style.
[Obs.]
In his satires Horace is quick,
round
, and pleasant.
Peacham.
10.
Complete and consistent; fair; just; – applied to conduct.
Round
dealing is the honor of man's nature.
Bacon.
At a round rate
,
rapidly.
Dryden.
–
In round numbers
,
approximately in even units, tens, hundreds, etc.;
as, a bin holding 99 or 101 bushels may be said to hold
in round numbers
100 bushels
.
–
Round bodies
(Geom.)
,
the sphere right cone, and right cylinder.
–
Round clam
(Zool.)
,
the quahog.
–
Round dance
one which is danced by couples with a whirling or revolving motion, as the waltz, polka, etc.
–
Round game
,
a game, as of cards, in which each plays on his own account.
–
Round hand
,
a style of penmanship in which the letters are formed in nearly an upright position, and each separately distinct; – distinguished from running hand.
–
Round robin
.
[Perhaps F.
round
round +
ruban
ribbon.]
(a)
A written petition, memorial, remonstrance, protest, etc., the signatures to which are made in a circle so as not to indicate who signed first.
“No round robins signed by the whole main deck of the Academy or the Porch.”
De Quincey.
(b)
(Zool.)
The cigar fish.
–
Round shot
,
a solid spherical projectile for ordnance.
–
Round Table
,
the table about which sat King Arthur and his knights. See
Knights of the Round Table
, under
Knight
.
–
Round tower
,
one of certain lofty circular stone towers, tapering from the base upward, and usually having a conical cap or roof, which crowns the summit, – found chiefly in Ireland. They are of great antiquity, and vary in heigh from thirty-five to one hundred and thiry feet.
–
Round trot
,
one in which the horse throws out his feet roundly; a full, brisk, quick trot.
Addison.
–
Round turn
(Naut.)
,
one turn of a rope round a timber, a belaying pin, etc.
–
To bring up with a round turn
,
to stop abruptly.
[Colloq.]
Syn. – Circular; spherical; globular; globase; orbicular; orbed; cylindrical; full; plump; rotund.

Round

(round)
,
Noun.
1.
Anything round, as a circle, a globe, a ring. “The golden round” [the crown].
Shak.
In labyrinth of many a
round
self-rolled.
Milton.
2.
A series of changes or events ending where it began; a series of like events recurring in continuance; a cycle; a periodical revolution;
as, the
round
of the seasons; a
round
of pleasures.
3.
Hence:
A course ending where it began; a circuit; a beat; especially, one freguently or regulary traversed; also, the act of traversing a circuit;
as, a watchman's
round
; the
rounds
of the postman
.
4.
A series of duties or tasks which must be performed in turn, and then repeated.
the trivial
round
, the common task.
Keble.
6.
A course of action or conduct performed by a number of persons in turn, or one after another, as if seated in a circle.
Women to cards may be compared: we play
A
round
or two; which used, we throw away.
Granville.
The feast was served; the bowl was crowned;
To the king's pleasure went the mirthful
round
.
Prior.
9.
The time during which prize fighters or boxers are in actual contest without an intermission, as prescribed by their rules; a bout.
10.
A circular dance.
Come, knit hands, and beat the ground,
In a light fantastic
round
.
Milton.
11.
That which goes round a whole circle or company;
as, a
round
of applause
.
12.
Rotation, as in office; succession.
Holyday.
13.
The step of a ladder; a rundle or rung; also, a crosspiece which joins and braces the legs of a chair.
All the
rounds
like Jacob's ladder rise.
Dryden.
15.
(Mus.)
A short vocal piece, resembling a catch in which three or four voices follow each other round in a species of canon in the unison.
16.
A brewer's vessel in which the fermentation is concluded, the yeast escaping through the bunghole.
18.
An assembly; a group; a circle;
as, a
round
of politicians
.
Addison.
19.
(Naut.)
See
Roundtop
.
20.
Same as
Round of beef
, below.
Gentlemen of the round
.
(a)
Gentlemen soldiers of low rank who made the rounds. See 10
(a)
, above.
(b)
Disbanded soldiers who lived by begging.
[Obs.]

Worm-eaten
gentlemen of the round
, such as have vowed to sit on the skirts of the city, let your provost and his half dozen of halberdiers do what they can.
B. Jonson.
–
Round of beef
,
the part of the thigh below the aitchbone, or between the rump and the leg.
See Illust. of
beef
. –
Round steak
,
a beefsteak cut from the round.
–
Sculpture in the round
,
sculpture giving the full form, as of man; statuary, distinguished from relief.

Round

,
adv.
1.
On all sides; around.
Round
he throws his baleful eyes.
Milton.
2.
Circularly; in a circular form or manner; by revolving or reversing one's position;
as, to turn one's head
round
; a wheel turns
round
.
3.
In circumference;
as, a ball is ten inches
round
.
4.
From one side or party to another; as to come or turn round, – that is, to change sides or opinions.
5.
By or in a circuit; by a course longer than the direct course; back to the starting point.
6.
Through a circle, as of friends or houses.
The invitations were sent
round
accordingly.
Sir W. Scott.
7.
Roundly; fully; vigorously.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
All round
,
over the whole place; in every direction.
–
All-round
,
of general capacity;
as, an
all-round
man
.
[Colloq.]
–
To bring one round
.
(a)
To cause one to change his opinions or line of conduct
.
(b)
To restore one to health
.
[Colloq.]

Round

,
p
rep.
On every side of, so as to encompass or encircle; around; about;
as, the people atood
round
him; to go
round
the city; to wind a cable
round
a windlass
.
The serpent Error twines
round
human hearts.
Cowper.
Round about
,
an emphatic form for round or about.
“Moses . . . set them [The elders] round about the tabernacle.”
Num. xi. 24.
–
To come round
,
to gain the consent of, or circumvent, (a person) by flattery or deception.
[Colloq.]

Round

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Rounded
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Rounding
.]
1.
To make circular, spherical, or cylindrical; to give a round or convex figure to;
as, to
round
a silver coin; to
round
the edges of anything
.
Worms with many feet, which
round
themselves into balls, are bred chiefly under logs of timber.
Bacon.
The figures on our modern medals are raised and
rounded
to a very great perfection.
Addison.
2.
To surround; to encircle; to encompass.
The inclusive verge
Of golden metal that must
round
my brow.
Shakespeare
3.
To bring to fullness or completeness; to complete; hence, to bring to a fit conclusion.
We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is
rounded
with a sleep.
Shakespeare
4.
To go round wholly or in part; to go about (a corner or point);
as, to
round
a corner; to
round
Cape Horn
.
5.
To make full, smooth, and flowing;
as, to
round
periods in writing
.
Swift.
To round in
(Naut.)
To haul up; usually, to haul the slack of (a rope) through its leading block, or to haul up (a tackle which hangs loose) by its fall.
Totten.
(b)
To collect together (cattle) by riding around them, as on cattle ranches
.
[Western U.S.]

Round

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To grow round or full; hence, to attain to fullness, completeness, or perfection.
The queen your mother
rounds
apace.
Shakespeare
So
rounds
he to a separate mind,
From whence clear memory may begin.
Tennyson.
2.
To go round, as a guard.
[Poetic]
They . . . nightly
rounding
walk.
Milton.
3.
To go or turn round; to wheel about.
Tennyson.
To round to
(Naut.)
,
to turn the head of a ship toward the wind.

Webster 1828 Edition

Round

ROUND

,
Adj.
1.
Cylindrical; circular; spherical or globular. Round is applicable to a cylinder as well as to a globe or sphere. We say, the barrel of a musket is round; a ball is round; a circle is round.
2.
Full; large; as a round sum or price.

Definition 2024

round

round

See also: 'round

English

Adjective

round ‎(comparative rounder or more round, superlative roundest or most round)

  1. (physical) Shape.
    1. Circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction.
      We sat at a round table to make conversation easier.‎
    2. Spherical; shaped like a ball; having a circular cross-section in more than one direction.
      The ancient Egyptian demonstrated that the Earth is round, not flat.‎
    3. Lacking sharp angles; having gentle curves.
      Our child's bed has round corners for safety.‎
    4. Plump.
      • 1977, Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, Part II, chapter2:
        If I close my eyes I can see Marie today as I saw her then. Round, rosy face, snub nose, dark hair piled up in a chignon.
  2. Complete, whole, not lacking.
    The baker sold us a round dozen.‎
    • Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
      Round was their pace at first, but slackened soon.
  3. (of a number) Convenient for rounding other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero.
    One hundred is a nice round number.‎
  4. (linguistics) Pronounced with the lips drawn together.
  5. Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; not mincing.
    a round answer;  a round oath‎
  6. Finished; polished; not defective or abrupt; said of authors or their writing style.
    • Henry Peacham (1578-c.1644)
      In his satires Horace is quick, round, and pleasant.
  7. Consistent; fair; just; applied to conduct.
    • Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
      Round dealing is the honour of man's nature.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
Derived terms

Noun

round ‎(plural rounds)

  1. A circular or spherical object or part of an object.
    • William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)
      the golden round [the crown]
    • John Milton (1608-1674)
      in labyrinth of many a round self-rolled
    • 1915, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price, chapterI:
      Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. […] She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
    • 1955, William Golding, The Inheritors, Faber and Faber 2005, p.50:
      All at once the sun was through, a round of dulled silver, racing slantwise through the clouds yet always staying in the same place.
  2. A circular or repetitious route.
    hospital rounds‎
    The guards have started their rounds; the prisoner should be caught soon.‎
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 15, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells.
  3. A general outburst from a group of people at an event.
    The candidate got a round of applause after every sentence or two.‎
  4. A song that is sung by groups of people with each subset of people starting at a different time.
  5. A serving of something; a portion of something to each person in a group.
    They brought us a round of drinks about every thirty minutes.‎
    • Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son
      There is a snaky gleam in her hard grey eye, as of anticipated rounds of buttered toast, relays of hot chops, worryings and quellings of young children, sharp snappings at poor Berry, and all the other delights of her Ogress's castle.
  6. A single individual portion or dose of medicine.
    • 2009, Patrick Condon, "Boy with cancer, mom return home", Associated Press, printed in Austin American-Statesman, 2009 May 26, page A4:
      Daniel underwent one round of chemotherapy in February but stopped after that single treatment, citing religious beliefs.
  7. One sandwich (two full slices of bread with filling).
  8. (art) A long-bristled, circular-headed paintbrush used in oil and acrylic painting.
  9. A firearm cartridge, bullet, or any individual ammunition projectile. Originally referring to the spherical projectile ball of a smoothbore firearm. Compare round shot and solid shot.
  10. (sports) One of the specified pre-determined segments of the total time of a sport event, such as a boxing or wrestling match, during which contestants compete before being signaled to stop.
    • April 19 2002, Scott Tobias, AV Club Fightville
      And though Fightville, an MMA documentary from the directors of the fine Iraq War doc Gunner Palace, presents it more than fairly, the sight of a makeshift ring getting constructed on a Louisiana rodeo ground does little to shake the label. Nor do the shots of ringside assistants with spray bottles and rags, mopping up the blood between rounds
  11. (sports) A stage in a competition.
    qualifying rounds of the championship‎
  12. (sports) In some sports, e.g. golf or showjumping: one complete way around the course.
  13. (engineering, drafting, CAD) A rounded relief or cut at an edge, especially an outside edge, added for a finished appearance and to soften sharp edges.
  14. A strip of material with a circular face that covers an edge, gap, or crevice for decorative, sanitary, or security purposes.
    All furniture in the nursery had rounds on the edges and in the crevices.‎
  15. (butchery) The hindquarters of a bovine.
  16. (dated) A rung, as of a ladder.
    • John Dryden (1631-1700)
      All the rounds like Jacob's ladder rise.
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, chapter 8
      The perpendicular parts of this side ladder, as is usually the case with swinging ones, were of cloth-covered rope, only the rounds were of wood, so that at every step there was a joint.
  17. A crosspiece that joins and braces the legs of a chair.
  18. A series of changes or events ending where it began; a series of like events recurring in continuance; a cycle; a periodical revolution.
    the round of the seasons;  a round of pleasures‎
  19. A course of action or conduct performed by a number of persons in turn, or one after another, as if seated in a circle.
    • George Granville (1666-1735)
      Women to cards may be compared: we play / A round or two; which used, we throw away.
    • Matthew Prior (1664-1721)
      The feast was served; the bowl was crowned; / To the king's pleasure went the mirthful round.
  20. A series of duties or tasks which must be performed in turn, and then repeated.
    • John Keble (1792-1866)
      the trivial round, the common task
  21. A circular dance.
    • John Milton (1608-1674)
      Come, knit hands, and beat the ground, / In a light fantastic round.
  22. Rotation, as in office; succession.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Holyday to this entry?)
  23. A general discharge of firearms by a body of troops in which each soldier fires once.
  24. An assembly; a group; a circle.
    a round of politicians‎
  25. A brewer's vessel in which the fermentation is concluded, the yeast escaping through the bunghole.
  26. (archaic) A vessel filled, as for drinking.
  27. (nautical) A round-top.
  28. A round of beef.
Synonyms
  • (song with each subset starting at a different time): canon
  • (hindquarters of a bovine): rump
Antonyms
  • (rounded inside edge): fillet
Hyponyms
  • (song with each subset starting at a different time): catch
Translations
Derived terms

Preposition

round

  1. (rare in US) Alternative form of around.
    I look round the room quickly to make sure it's neat.
    • Cowper
      The serpent Error twines round human hearts.
Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

round ‎(not comparable)

  1. Alternative form of around
    • Sir Walter Scott
      The invitations were sent round accordingly.
Translations

Verb

round ‎(third-person singular simple present rounds, present participle rounding, simple past and past participle rounded)

  1. (transitive) To shape something into a curve.
    The carpenter rounded the edges of the table.
    • Francis Bacon
      Worms with many feet, which round themselves into balls, are bred chiefly under logs of timber.
    • Addison
      The figures on our modern medals are raised and rounded to a very great perfection.
  2. (intransitive) To become shaped into a curve.
    • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,
      The girl's figure, he perceived, was admirably proportioned; she was evidently at the period when the angles of childhood were rounding into the promising curves of adolescence.
  3. (with "out") To finish; to complete; to fill out.
    She rounded out her education with only a single mathematics class.
    • Shakespeare
      We are such stuff / As dreams are made on, and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep.
  4. (intransitive) To approximate a number, especially a decimal number by the closest whole number.
    Ninety-five rounds up to one hundred.
  5. (transitive) To turn past a boundary.
    Helen watched him until he rounded the corner.
  6. (intransitive) To turn and attack someone or something (used with on).
    As a group of policemen went past him, one of them rounded on him, grabbing him by the arm.
  7. (transitive, baseball) To advance to home plate.
    And the runners round the bases on the double by Jones.
  8. (transitive) To go round, pass, go past.
    • 2011 March 2, Andy Campbell, “Celtic 1 - 0 Rangers”, in BBC:
      Diouf rounded Zaluska near the byeline and crossed but Daniel Majstorovic headed away and Celtic eventually mopped up the danger.
  9. To encircle; to encompass.
    • Shakespeare
      The inclusive verge / Of golden metal that must round my brow.
  10. To grow round or full; hence, to attain to fullness, completeness, or perfection.
    • Shakespeare
      The queen your mother rounds apace.
    • Tennyson
      So rounds he to a separate mind, / From whence clear memory may begin.
  11. (obsolete, intransitive) To go round, as a guard; to make the rounds.
    • Milton
      They […] nightly rounding walk.
  12. (obsolete, intransitive) To go or turn round; to wheel about.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Tennyson to this entry?)
Derived terms
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

From Middle English rounen, from Old English rūnian ‎(“to whisper, talk low, talk secrets, consipre, talk secretly”), from Proto-Germanic *rūnōną ‎(“to talk secrets, whisper, decide”), *raunijaną ‎(“to investigate, examine, prove”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)rewə-, *(e)rwō- ‎(“to trace, find out, look out”). Cognate with Scots roun ‎(“to converse with in whispers, speak privately”), Middle Low German rūnen ‎(“to whisper”), Middle Dutch ruinen ‎(“to whisper”), German raunen ‎(“to whisper, murmur”), Old English rūn ‎(“whisper, secret, mystery”), Swedish röna ‎(“to meet with, experience”). More at rune.

Verb

round ‎(third-person singular simple present rounds, present participle rounding, simple past and past participle rounded)

  1. (intransitive, archaic or dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To speak in a low tone; whisper; speak secretly; take counsel.
  2. (transitive, archaic or dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To address or speak to in a whisper, utter in a whisper.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Holland to this entry?)
    • Calderwood
      The Bishop of Glasgow rounding in his ear, "Ye are not a wise man," […] he rounded likewise to the bishop, and said, "Wherefore brought ye me here?"
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, I.2.4.IV:
      Tiberius the emperor […] perceiving a fellow round a dead corse in the ear, would needs know wherefore he did so […]

Etymology 3

From Middle English roun, from Old English rūn ‎(“whisper, secret, mystery”), from Proto-Germanic *rūnō, *raunō ‎(“a whisper, secret, secret sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)rewə-, *(e)rwō- ‎(“to trace, find out, look out”). Cognate with Scots roun, round ‎(“a whisper, secret story”), German Rune ‎(“rune”), Swedish rön ‎(“findings, observations, experience”).

Noun

round ‎(plural rounds)

  1. (archaic or dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A whisper; whispering.
  2. (archaic or dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Discourse; song.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: morning · money · door · #276: round · kind · form · hundred

Italian

Etymology

English

Noun

round m ‎(invariable)

  1. (sports) round
  2. round (session or series)

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowing from English round.

Pronunciation

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈraw̃d͡ʒ/

Noun

round m (plural rounds)

  1. (martial arts) round (segment of a fight)

Synonyms

Spanish

Noun

round m ‎(plural rounds)

  1. (martial arts) round

Etymology

From Old French ront, runt ( > French rond), representing an earlier *rodond, from Latin rotundus ( > Italian rotondo, Provençal redon, Spanish redondo etc.). The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the corresponding French noun rond. Compare rotund and rotunda.

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈɹaʊnd/
  • Rhymes: -aʊnd

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