Roundabout Meaning
/ˈɹaʊndəˌbaʊt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjIndirect, circuitous, or circumlocutionary.
adjEncircling; enveloping; comprehensive.
Sentence Examples
Don't say it in a roundabout way.
The purpose of a roundabout is to slow down traffic.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The driver slowed down when approaching the ____ to decide which exit to take.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The council replaced the traffic lights with a ____ to improve the flow of vehicles.
Word Origin & History
From round + about [from early 20th c.].
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[S]he fled, running like a deer, doubling and turning through alleys and back streets until by a very roundabout road she reached her own room."
— 1896, Robert Barr, “chapter9”, in From Whose Bourne:
""Really, Bill, I think your best plan would be to go straight to father and tell him the whole thing.—You don't want him to hear about it in a roundabout way.""
— 1920 March – 1921 February, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter 17, in Indiscretions of Archie, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published 1921, →OCLC:
"Mr. Rather flew to the area in a roundabout fashion, first landing in Bahrain, from there flying to Islamabad and then heading to Kabul by land."
— 2001 December 3, Jim Rutenberg, “Rather Reports Another War”, in New York Times, retrieved 03 Apr 2014:
"Descartes is compelled to fall back upon a curious roundabout argument to prove that there is a world. He must first prove that God exists, and then argue that God would not deceive us into thinking that it exists when it does not."
— 2011, 50 Classic Philosophy Books, Golgotha Press, →ISBN:
"The third sort is of those who readily and sincerely follow reason, but for want of having that which one may call a large, sound, roundabout sense, have not a full view of all that relates to the question."
— 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The driver slowed down when approaching the ____ to decide which exit to take.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The council replaced the traffic lights with a ____ to improve the flow of vehicles.