Circular vs. Round: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 26, 2023
Circular refers specifically to the shape that is perfectly symmetrical and resembles a circle, while round describes a shape that is curved and without angles, not necessarily perfectly circular.
Key Differences
Circular specifically denotes a shape that is geometrically symmetrical in all directions, resembling a perfect circle. Round, however, describes a shape or object that is curved and without angles, but not necessarily perfectly symmetrical like a circle.
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Dec 26, 2023
Circular is often used to describe objects or shapes that strictly adhere to the geometric properties of a circle. Round is used more broadly to describe objects that are curved or spherical, like a ball or a round table.
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Circular is typically used in more precise contexts, such as in mathematics, geometry, or when specifying shapes with exact circular properties. Round is used in a wider range of contexts, emphasizing the absence of angles and straight lines rather than geometric perfection.
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Dec 26, 2023
Circular can also have metaphorical uses, like in describing a circular argument, which implies something repetitive or not progressing. Round does not typically have these metaphorical connotations and is usually confined to physical descriptions.
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Dec 26, 2023
Round is more commonly used in everyday language to describe objects that are somewhat circular or spherical, while circular is more technical and specific, used when exactitude is important.
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Dec 26, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Perfectly symmetrical shape resembling a circle
Curved shape without angles, not necessarily perfect
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Geometric Precision
High, implies geometric perfection
Less precise, more about general shape
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Typical Use
In mathematics, geometry, precise descriptions
In general descriptions, everyday language
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Metaphorical Application
Used metaphorically (e.g., circular reasoning)
Rarely used metaphorically
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Circular and Round Definitions
Circular
Moving or occurring in a cycle.
The discussion turned into a circular argument.
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Circular
Arranged in or forming a circle.
The chairs were set up in a circular formation.
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Round
Being such that every part of the surface or the circumference is equidistant from the center
A round ball.
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Circular
Relating to a circle or its mathematical properties.
He studied the circular geometry of the design.
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Circular
A letter or notice intended for wide distribution.
We received a circular announcing the event.
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Round
(Linguistics) Formed or articulated with the lips in a rounded shape
A round vowel.
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Circular
Using a premise to prove a conclusion that in turn is used to prove the premise
A circular argument.
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Circular
Defining one word in terms of another that is itself defined in terms of the first word.
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Round
Not exact, especially when expressed as a multiple of 10; approximate
A round estimate.
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Circular
A printed advertisement, directive, or notice intended for mass distribution.
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Circular
Referring back to itself, so as to prevent computation or comprehension; infinitely recursive.
Circular reasoning
Your dictionary defines "brave" as "courageous", and "courageous" as "brave". That's a circular definition.
A circular formula in a spreadsheet
I changed the definition of "sex" from "to have sex" to "to have sexual intercourse"; a dictionary definition must never be circular; using the word being defined to define itself.
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Circular
(archaic) Adhering to a fixed circle of legends; cyclic; hence, mean; inferior.
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Circular
Syn of flyer: a printed advertisement, directive, or notice intended for mass circulation.
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Round
A cut of beef from the part of the thigh between the rump and the shank.
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Round
A complete course, succession, or series
A round of parties.
A round of negotiations.
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Round
Often rounds A course of customary or prescribed actions, duties, or places
Physicians' rounds.
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Circular
Repeating itself; ending in itself; reverting to the point of beginning; hence, illogical; inconclusive; as, circular reasoning.
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Round
One drink for each person in a gathering or group
Let me buy the next round.
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Circular
Adhering to a fixed circle of legends; cyclic; hence, mean; inferior. See Cyclic poets, under Cyclic.
Had Virgil been a circular poet, and closely adhered to history, how could the Romans have had Dido?
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Circular
Addressed to a circle, or to a number of persons having a common interest; circulated, or intended for circulation; as, a circular letter.
A proclamation of Henry III., . . . doubtless circular throughout England.
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Circular
Perfect; complete.
A man so absolute and circularIn all those wished-for rarities that may takeA virgin captive.
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Circular
A circular letter, or paper, usually printed, copies of which are addressed or given to various persons; as, a business circular.
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Round
A specified number of arrows shot from a specified distance to a target in archery.
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Round
Sports & Games A unit of play that occupies a specified time, constitutes a certain number of plays, or allows each player a turn, especially the 18-hole sequence played in golf or one of the periods in a boxing match.
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Circular
An advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution;
He mailed the circular to all subscribers
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Round
(Music) A composition for two or more voices in which each voice enters at a different time with the same melody.
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Round
To make round or curved
Rounded his lips in surprise.
Rounded off the end of the board.
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Round
To bring to completion or perfection; finish. Often used with out or off
The new dog rounded out our household. The speaker rounded off his lecture with a joke.
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Round
(Mathematics) To approximate (a real number) by a nearby rational number with a specified level of precision. When rounded to the nearest hundred, 286 becomes 300. When rounded to the nearest tenth, 1.63 becomes 1.6.
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Round
To make a turn about or to the other side of
Rounded a bend in the road.
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Round
To make a complete circuit of; go or pass around
Rounded the entire peninsula.
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Round
To take a circular course; complete or partially complete a circuit
Racecars rounding into the final lap.
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Round
To develop into satisfactory completion or perfection
Is rounding into a fine quarterback.
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Round
To a specific place or person
Called round for the pastor.
Sent round for the veterinarian.
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Round
From the beginning to the end of; throughout
A plant that grows round the year.
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Round
Circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction.
We sat at a round table to make conversation easier.
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Round
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.
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Round
Lacking sharp angles; having gentle curves.
Our child's bed has round corners for safety.
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Round
(of a number) Convenient for rounding other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero.
One hundred is a nice round number.
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Round
Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; not mincing.
A round answer; a round oath
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Round
Finished; polished; not defective or abrupt; said of authors or their writing style.
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Round
Well-written and well-characterized; complex and reminiscent of a real person.
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Round
A circular or repetitious route.
Hospital rounds
The prison guards have started their nightly rounds.
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Round
A general outburst from a group of people at an event.
The candidate got a round of applause after every sentence or two.
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Round
A song that is sung by groups of people with each subset of people starting at a different time.
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Round
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.
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Round
(art) A long-bristled, circular-headed paintbrush used in oil and acrylic painting.
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Round
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.
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Round
(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.
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Round
(sports) A stage in a competition.
Qualifying rounds of the championship
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Round
(sports) In some sports, e.g. golf or showjumping: one complete way around the course.
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Round
A rounded relief or cut at an edge, especially an outside edge, added for a finished appearance and to soften sharp edges.
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Round
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.
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Round
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
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Round
A course of action or conduct performed by a number of persons in turn, or one after another, as if seated in a circle.
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Round
A series of duties or tasks which must be performed in turn, and then repeated.
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Round
A general discharge of firearms by a body of troops in which each soldier fires once.
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Round
A brewer's vessel in which the fermentation is concluded, the yeast escaping through the bunghole.
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Round
Alternative form of around
I look round the room quickly to make sure it's neat.
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Round
(transitive) To shape something into a curve.
The carpenter rounded the edges of the table.
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Round
(with "out") To finish; to complete; to fill out.
She rounded out her education with only a single mathematics class.
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Round
(intransitive) To approximate a number, especially a decimal number by the closest whole number.
Ninety-five rounds up to one hundred.
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Round
(transitive) To turn past a boundary.
Helen watched him until he rounded the corner.
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Round
(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.
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Round
To advance to home plate.
And the runners round the bases on the double by Jones.
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Round
To grow round or full; hence, to attain to fullness, completeness, or perfection.
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Round
To whisper.
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?"
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Round
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.
The figures on our modern medals are raised and rounded to a very great perfection.
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Round
To surround; to encircle; to encompass.
The inclusive vergeOf golden metal that must round my brow.
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Round
To bring to fullness or completeness; to complete; hence, to bring to a fit conclusion.
We are such stuffAs dreams are made on, and our little lifeIs rounded with a sleep.
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Round
To go round wholly or in part; to go about (a corner or point); as, to round a corner; to round Cape Horn.
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Round
To grow round or full; hence, to attain to fullness, completeness, or perfection.
The queen your mother rounds apace.
So rounds he to a separate mind,From whence clear memory may begin.
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Round
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.
Upon the firm opacous globeOf this round world.
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Round
Having the form of a cylinder; cylindrical; as, the barrel of a musket is round.
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Round
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.
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Round
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.
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Round
Not inconsiderable; large; hence, generous; free; as, a round price.
Three thousand ducats; 'tis a good round sum.
Round was their pace at first, but slackened soon.
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Round
Uttered or emitted with a full tone; as, a round voice; a round note.
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Round
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.
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Round
Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; unqualified; not mincing; as, a round answer; a round oath.
Sir Toby, I must be round with you.
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Round
Full and smoothly expanded; not defective or abrupt; finished; polished; - said of style, or of authors with reference to their style.
In his satires Horace is quick, round, and pleasant.
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Round
Complete and consistent; fair; just; - applied to conduct.
Round dealing is the honor of man's nature.
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Round
Anything round, as a circle, a globe, a ring. "The golden round" [the crown].
In labyrinth of many a round self-rolled.
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Round
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.
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Round
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.
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Round
A series of duties or tasks which must be performed in turn, and then repeated.
The trivial round, the common task.
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Round
One work cycle, consisting of drilling blast holes, loading them with explosive, blasting, mucking out, and, if necessary, installing temporary support.
. . . Inco is still much more advanced than other mining companies. He says that the LKAB mine in Sweden is the closest rival. He predicts that, by 2008, Inco can reach a new productivity plateau, doubling the current mining productivity from 3,350 tonnes to 6,350 tonnes per person per year. Another aim is to triple the mine cycle rate (the time to drill, blast and muck a round) from one cycle to three complete cycles per 24 hours.
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Round
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 playA round or two; which used, we throw away.
The feast was served; the bowl was crowned;To the king's pleasure went the mirthful round.
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Round
A complete set of plays in a game or contest covering a standard number of individual plays or parts; as, a round of golf; a round of tennis.
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Round
The time during which prize fighters or boxers are in actual contest without an intermission, as prescribed by their rules; a bout.
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Round
A circular dance.
Come, knit hands, and beat the ground,In a light fantastic round.
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Round
That which goes round a whole circle or company; as, a round of applause.
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Round
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.
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Oct 19, 2023
Round
A walk performed by a guard or an officer round the rampart of a garrison, or among sentinels, to see that the sentinels are faithful and all things safe; also, the guard or officer, with his attendants, who performs this duty; - usually in the plural.
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Round
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.
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Round
A brewer's vessel in which the fermentation is concluded, the yeast escaping through the bunghole.
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Round
A vessel filled, as for drinking; as, to drink a round od ale together.
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Round
Same as Round of beef, below.
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.
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Round
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.
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Round
From one side or party to another; as to come or turn round, - that is, to change sides or opinions.
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Round
By or in a circuit; by a course longer than the direct course; back to the starting point.
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Round
Through a circle, as of friends or houses.
The invitations were sent round accordingly.
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Round
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.
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Round
An interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs;
The neverending cycle of the seasons
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Round
A regular route for a sentry or policeman;
In the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name
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Round
(often plural) a series of professional calls (usually in a set order);
The doctor goes on his rounds first thing every morning
The postman's rounds
We enjoyed our round of the local bars
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Round
The activity of playing 18 holes of golf;
A round of golf takes about 4 hours
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Round
The course along which communications spread;
The story is going the rounds in Washington
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Round
A serving to each of a group (usually alcoholic);
He ordered a second round
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Round
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;
They enjoyed singing rounds
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Round
Any circular or rotating mechanism;
The machine punched out metal circles
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Round
Be around;
Developments surround the town
The river encircles the village
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Round
Attack in speech or writing;
The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker
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Round
Bring to a highly developed, finished, or refined state;
Polish your social manners
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Round
(of sounds) full and rich;
Orotund tones
The rotund and reverberating phrase
Pear-shaped vowels
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Round
(of numbers) to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousand;
In round numbers
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Round
From beginning to end; throughout;
It rains all year round on Skye
Frigid weather the year around
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Round
A single complete cycle or period.
It's your turn to sing a round in the game.
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Dec 26, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
How is round different from circular?
Round refers to a curved shape without angles, not necessarily perfect.
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Dec 26, 2023
Is round always a perfect circle?
No, it denotes curved shapes but not always perfect circles.
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Dec 26, 2023
Can round describe objects like balls?
Yes, as it implies a spherical shape.
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Dec 26, 2023
Is circular strictly geometric?
Mostly, but it can also have non-geometric uses.
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Dec 26, 2023
Where is circular commonly used?
In precise, technical contexts like geometry.
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Dec 26, 2023
How is round used in everyday language?
To describe generally curved objects.
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Dec 26, 2023
Does circular have non-physical meanings?
Yes, like in arguments or reasoning.
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Dec 26, 2023
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Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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