around
/əˈɹaʊnd/ preposition, adjective, adverb
Also a form of round
- preposition Forming a circle or closed curve containing (something). “She wore a gold chain around her neck.”
- preposition (of abstract things) Centred upon; surrounding; regarding. “We could use some clarification around the new rules.”
- preposition Following the perimeter of a specified area and returning to the starting point. “We walked around the football field.”
- preposition Following a path which curves near an object, with the object on the inside of the curve. “The road took a brief detour around the large rock formation, then went straight on.”
- preposition Near; in the vicinity of; approximately. “I left my keys somewhere around here.”
- preposition At or to various places within or throughout. “The pages from the notebook were scattered around the room.”
- preposition (figurative) So as to avoid something. “Our product designs around the existing patents to avoid infringing them.”
- adjective (informal, predicative only, with the verb "to be") Present in the vicinity. “Is Clare around today?”
- adjective (informal, predicative only, with the verb "to be") Alive; existing. “The record store on Main Street? Yes, it's still around.”
- adverb So as to form a circle or trace a circular path, or approximation thereof. “High above, vultures circled around.”
- adverb So as to surround or be near. “Everybody please gather around.”
- adverb Nearly; approximately; about. “Around a thousand people attended.”
- adverb From place to place. “There are rumors going around that the company is bankrupt.”
- adverb From one state or condition to an opposite or very different one; with a metaphorical change in direction; bringing about awareness or agreement. “The team wasn't doing well, but the new coach really turned things around.”
- adverb (with turn, spin, etc.) So as to partially or completely rotate; so as to face in the opposite direction. “Turn around at the end of this street.”
- adverb Used with verbs to indicate repeated or continuous action, or in numerous locations or with numerous people. “I asked around, and no-one really liked it.”
- adverb Used with certain verbs to suggest unproductive activity. “sit around, mess around, loaf around”
Synonyms
environ about approximately close to just about some roughly more or less or so round
Etymology
From Middle English around, arounde, from a- (from Old English a- (“on, at”)) + Middle English round (“circle, round”) borrowed from French, equivalent to a- + round. Cognate with Scots aroond, aroon (“around”). Displaced earlier Middle English umbe, embe (“around”) (from Old English ymbe (“around”)).
Webster’s 1913
- adverb In a circle; circularly; on every side; round.
- adverb In a circuit; here and there within the surrounding space; all about; as, to travel around from town to town.
- preposition On all sides of; encircling; encompassing; so as to make the circuit of; about.
- preposition From one part to another of; at random through; about; on another side of; as, to travel around the country; a house standing around the corner. [Colloq. U. S.]
Etymology [Pref. a- + round.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “around”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details