Meanings
- emphaticnot comparablesometimesRound, around (i.e., approximately).
I reckon there're round about a dozen cattle that escaped his drive and are now living down by the river until someone rounds them up.
- not comparableRound, around (i.e., surrounding); closely surrounding.
Near-synonym: near about
1 more example
There's a scattering of small islands round about the main island; they're mostly uninhabited except for occasional camping by fishing crews.
Synonyms: near about
- At a point or time approximately equal to.
She expects to get home round about ten o'clock, if all goes well.
1 more example
Nevertheless, the modern outside cylinder 2-6-0 may be said to have had its beginnings on the G.N.R. and G.W.R. round about 1911.
1945 November and December, H. C. Casserley, “Random Reflections on British Locomotive Types—1”, in Railway Magazine, pages 318–319
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbRound, around (i.e., surrounding); closely surrounding.
Cite this entry
round about. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/round%20about
“round about.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/round%20about. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “round about,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/round%20about.
Source: round about on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.