around
- adverb
- /əˈraʊnd/
- So the distance of halfway around the circle is π.
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Watch on YouTubeThe 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.
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They placed flowers around the statue in the town square.
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For example, just around the sides of the nose.
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I'm just going to use it around the outside.
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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.
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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.
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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
To sail around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, often in dangerous weather
To take part in a traditional May Day dance in a circle around a tall decorated pole
- Informal
A constant problem or responsibility that is hard to get rid of
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.