around
- adverb
- /əˈraʊnd/
- So the distance of halfway around the circle is π.
The guy's thighs were as big around as my dinner table.
- The guy's thighs were as big around as my dinner table.
Examples
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The park has a pathway that goes all the way around the pond.
-
They placed flowers around the statue in the town square.
-
For example, just around the sides of the nose.
-
I'm just going to use it around the outside.
-
So it's just giving a bit more shine around that area.
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We only want to go halfway around the unit circle.
-
So I had all this extra bone around my knee joint.
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And I'm just going to add this around the edges of that red.
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Going to add it around the rim of the candle holder.
-
The edge of her glass is smeared halfway around with lipstick.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
Around the outside of something in a circle
Moving or placed in a circle
Antonyms
Idioms
The most important thing that makes life keep going, like money or love
- Informal
A constant problem or responsibility that is hard to get rid of
To take part in a traditional May Day dance in a circle around a tall decorated pole
To sail around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, often in dangerous weather
To avoid saying something directly by talking a long time before answering
- Archaic
To talk or act in a long, roundabout way to avoid the main point
- Informal
Behaving as if you are the most important person and others do not matter
- Informal
Talk in a relaxed, joking way and make stories bigger to be funny
Compounds
- Specialized
Stopping an approach or attempt to try again, for example when a plane pulls up instead of landing
- Baby Talk
A children's game where players hold hands, walk in a circle, and fall down while singing
- NSFW
Money given during elections to get people to vote for a candidate or pay small local costs
- Baby Talk
A children's game where players hold hands in a circle, sing, and fall down
Negative ideas that lead people to treat those with mental health problems unfairly
Surface Forms
Morphology
around = round (transparent) = a + round
Measuring something 'around' directly reflects the literal idea of going round its outer edge.
Etymology
Around comes from a- 'on' and round 'circle', so it meant being 'on the outside' of something. That's why we use around to talk about how far something is 'around' or along its outer edge.