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Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

round

/ˈɹaʊ̯nd/

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What does round mean?

adjective

  1. Circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction.
  2. Spherical; shaped like a ball; having a circular cross-section in more than one direction.
  3. Loosely or approximately circular.
More meanings (61)

adjective

  1. Plump.
  2. Complete, whole, not lacking.
  3. Convenient for rounding other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero.
  4. Pronounced with the lips drawn together; rounded.
  5. Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; not mincing words.
  6. Finished; polished; not defective or abrupt; said of authors or their writing style.
  7. Large in magnitude.
  8. Well-written and well-characterized; complex and reminiscent of a real person.
  9. Vaulted.
  10. Returning to its starting point.
  11. (obsolete) Consistent; fair; just; applied to conduct.

noun

  1. A circular or spherical object or part of an object.
  2. A circular or repetitious route.
  3. A general outburst from a group of people at an event.
  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.
  6. A single individual portion or dose of medicine.
  7. One slice of bread.
  8. One sandwich (two full slices of bread with filling).
  9. A long-bristled, circular-headed paintbrush used in oil and acrylic painting.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. A stage in a competition.
  13. In some sports, e.g. golf or showjumping: one complete way around the course.
  14. A stage or level of a game.
  15. The play after each deal.
  16. A rounded relief or cut at an edge, especially an outside edge, added for a finished appearance and to soften sharp edges.
  17. A strip of material with a circular face that covers an edge, gap, or crevice for decorative, sanitary, or security purposes.
  18. The hindquarters of a bovine; a round of beef.
  19. A crosspiece that joins and braces the legs of a chair.
  20. A series of changes or events ending where it began; a series of like events recurring in continuance; a cycle; a periodical revolution.
  21. A course of action or conduct performed by a number of persons in turn, or one after another, as if seated in a circle.
  22. A series of duties or tasks which must be performed in turn, and then repeated.
  23. A circular dance.
  24. Rotation, as in office; succession.
  25. A general discharge of firearms by a body of troops in which each soldier fires once.
  26. An assembly; a group; a circle.
  27. A brewer's vessel in which the fermentation is concluded, the yeast escaping through the bunghole.
  28. A round-top.
  29. (dated) A rung, as of a ladder.
  30. (archaic) A vessel filled, as for drinking.
  31. (archaic) A whisper; whispering.
  32. (archaic) Discourse; song.

adverb

  1. Alternative form of around.

verb

  1. To shape something into a curve.
  2. To become shaped into a curve.
  3. To finish; to complete; to fill out; see also round out.
  4. To approximate (a number, especially a decimal number) by the closest whole number, or some other close number, especially a whole number of hundreds, thousands, etc.; see also round down, round up.
  5. To turn past a boundary.
  6. To turn and attack someone or something (used with on).
  7. To advance to home plate.
  8. To go round, pass, go past.
  9. To encircle; to encompass.
  10. To grow round or full; hence, to attain to fullness, completeness, or perfection.
  11. To do ward rounds.
  12. (obsolete) To go round, as a guard; to make the rounds.
  13. (obsolete) To go or turn round; to wheel about.
  14. (archaic) To speak in a low tone; whisper; speak secretly; take counsel.
  15. (archaic) To address or speak to in a whisper, utter in a whisper.

proper noun

  1. A surname.

preposition

  1. (rare) Alternative form of around.
Wiktionary contributors Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈɹaʊ̯nd/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

An enormous puppy was looking down at her with large round eyes, and feebly stretching out one paw, trying to touch her.
Lewis CarrollAlice's Adventures in WonderlandProject Gutenberg ebook #11
She was a dark child, with brown curly hair, like a brunette doll’s, a coaxing little red mouth, and round, yellow-brown eyes.
Willa CatherO Pioneers!Project Gutenberg ebook #24
More book examples (3)
It was the vane on the roof turning round, and this change in the wind was the signal for a disastrous rain.
Thomas HardyFar from the Madding CrowdProject Gutenberg ebook #27
And then, with a renewed horror, I saw a round, black object bobbing up and down on the edge of the pit.
H. G. (Herbert George) WellsThe war of the worldsProject Gutenberg ebook #36
With the point of his knife he made two round eyes, a three-cornered nose, and a mouth shaped like a new moon.
L. Frank (Lyman Frank) BaumThe Marvelous Land of OzProject Gutenberg ebook #54