Round Meaning
/ˈɹaʊ̯nd/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOf shape:
adjOf shape:, Circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction.
Sentence Examples
Round trip? Only one-way.
Her eyes become round in surprise.
Everybody joins hands and dances round.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The soccer ball is perfectly ____, allowing it to roll in any direction.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The boxer won the fight in the third ____ with a decisive knockout punch.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English round, rounde, from Old Northern French roünt, rund, Old French ront, runt, reont ( > French rond), from both Late Latin retundus and the original Latin rotundus. The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the corresponding French noun rond. Doublet of rotund.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The flowers glowed red and golden: snapdragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians^([sic]) trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows."
— 1954 July 29, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “A Long-Expected Party”, in The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings, London: George Allen & Unwin, →OCLC:
"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."
— 1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 2, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:
"Round was their pace at first, but slackened soon: / A stranger meeting them had surely thought, / They rode so slowly and they look'd so pale, / That each had suffer'd some exceeding wrong."
— 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Enid”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 47:
""Supposing somebody sees you, with all those flowers too? Supposing somebody writes him a letter? Ooooh!" (a pure round open Tamil O.)"
— 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 421:
"the round assertion"
— 1867, Matthew Arnold, On the Study of Celtic Literature:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The soccer ball is perfectly ____, allowing it to roll in any direction.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The boxer won the fight in the third ____ with a decisive knockout punch.