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to round off

to round off

1 3.6
To add small final touches to make something complete
  • phrasal verb
  • /raʊnd ɔf/
translation icon : completar
  • In this case, the question—"What gives you the greatest pleasure?"—had been designed simply as a relaxing way of rounding off an interview of some hours.

Anyway, I put this paint on my, on my lips and that like rounds off the whole thing.

Examples

  • Carefully, Robert started to round off their conversation.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • To round off the meal, we opted for the staples of ice cream and cheesecake.

    Blog text (31)
  • Originally, his course at the Gregorian was supposed to be a kind of finishing school for those students who needed to round off their Latin education.

    Academic text (1994)
  • With your adrenaline pumped up, you round off the afternoon with some snowboarding on the local indoor snow mountain (outdoors, the temperature is 105 degrees).

    Blog text (31)
  • To round off the meal, we opted for the staples of ice cream and cheesecake.

  • Originally, his course at the Gregorian was supposed to be a kind of finishing school for those students who needed to round off their Latin education.

  • In this case, the question—"What gives you the greatest pleasure?"—had been designed simply as a relaxing way of rounding off an interview of some hours.

Synonyms

to finish
vsto round off
  • Informal
239 2.4

To put a final protective or decorative layer on something

focuses on broader refinement and finishing touches beyond surface treatment
to perfect
vsto round off
118 3.9

Make something as good as possible by improving it

focuses on adding last small touches rather than complete transformation
to round
vsto round off
113 4.8

Bring something to a finished state

focuses on adding the last small touches to make it fully refined
to refine
vsto round off
93 4.0

Make something better by making a few small changes

focuses more on final completion and overall refinement than iterative tweaks
to top
vsto round off
92 3.2

To finish something by adding a final detail or touch

is more about completing and refining all parts not only a single flourish
to finalize
vsto round off
  • US
74 3.8

Complete the last details to make something ready

emphasizes refining and polishing rather than only making it formally final
to top off
vsto round off
  • Informal
30 3.9

Add a final thing to make something feel complete

focuses on polishing and refining rather than simply adding an extra final element
to polish
vsto round off
22 4.1

To make something better by small changes

aims at completing and perfecting the whole item rather than minor tweaks
to round out
vsto round off
15 3.5

Make something more complete by adding parts

works instead by refining final details rather than by adding substantial parts
to finish out
vsto round off
11 4.0

To complete something by adding the final touches

stresses polishing and refining the whole work rather than just ending it
to consummate
vsto round off
  • Formal
8 7.4

To make something complete or perfect

aims more at completing with final touches than achieving absolute ideal quality
to polish up
vsto round off
  • Informal
4 3.5

Make something better by practicing or fixing it

is about finishing with final touches rather than gradual overall improvement
to cap it all off
vsto round off
  • Informal
5.7

To finish something in a very impressive way

is about refining and completing the work rather than merely ending impressively

Antonyms

256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

How Complete

to perfect
118 3.9
to round off
1 3.6
to revise
179 3.4
draft
  • Specialized
245 3.7
to start
1.0

Surface Forms

round off infinitive
rounded off past participle
rounding off present participle
rounds off third person singular

Morphology

round + off

The verb 'round' (make more rounded) maps metaphorically onto making a number 'round' (without decimals), and the particle 'off' conveys a sense of completion or reduction, so a learner who knows the constituents can plausibly infer a numeric 'making round' action. However, the precise numeric operation (nearest whole number or to a zero) and the conventional use in mathematics is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Round off also became a phrase for finishing something by adding small final touches; to round something off is to add the last bits that make it smooth and complete. That's why it means 'to complete or perfect'.