Adjacent Words

Around definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AROUND', prep. [a and round. See Round.]
1. About; on all sides; encircling; encompassing; as, a lambent flame around his brows.
2. In a looser sense, from place to place; at random.
AROUND', adv.
1. In a circle; on every side.
2. In a looser sense, at random; without any fixed direction; as, to travel around from town to town. [See Round.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adv
1: in the area or vicinity; "a few spectators standing about"; "hanging around"; "waited around for the next flight" [syn: about, around]
2: by a circular or circuitous route; "He came all the way around the base"; "the road goes around the pond"
3: used of movement to or among many different places or in no particular direction; "wandering about with no place to go"; "people were rushing about"; "news gets around (or about)"; "traveled around in Asia"; "he needs advice from someone who's been around"; "she sleeps around" [syn: about, around]
4: in a circle or circular motion; "The wheels are spinning around"
5: (of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct; "lasted approximately an hour"; "in just about a minute"; "he's about 30 years old"; "I've had about all I can stand"; "we meet about once a month"; "some forty people came"; "weighs around a hundred pounds"; "roughly $3,000"; "holds 3 gallons, more or less"; "20 or so people were at the party" [syn: approximately, about, close to, just about, some, roughly, more or less, around, or so]
6: in or to a reversed position or direction; "about face"; "suddenly she turned around" [syn: about, around]
7: to a particular destination either specified or understood; "she came around to see me"; "I invited them around for supper"
8: all around or on all sides; "dirty clothes lying around (or about)"; "let's look about for help"; "There were trees growing all around"; "she looked around her" [syn: about, around]
9: in circumference; "the trunk is ten feet around"; "the pond is two miles around"
10: from beginning to end; throughout; "It rains all year round on Skye"; "frigid weather the year around" [syn: round, around]

Merriam Webster's

I. adverb Etymology: Middle English, from ¹a- + ²round Date: 14th century 1. a. in a circle or in circumference <the wheel goes around> <a tree five feet around> b. in, along, or through a circuit <the road goes around by the lake> 2. a. on all or various sides ; in every or any direction <papers lying around> <nothing for miles around> b. in close from all sides so as to surround <people crowded around> c. in or near one's present place or situation <wait around awhile> 3. a. here and there ; from one place to another <travels around on business> b. to a particular place <come around for dinner> c. — used with some verbs to indicate repeated or continued action <always joking around when he should be serious> <don't play around with your food> 4. a. in rotation or succession <another winter comes around> b. from beginning to end ; through <mild the year around> c. in order <the other way around> 5. in or to an opposite direction or position <turn around> 6. with some approach to exactness ; approximately <cost around $5> II. preposition Date: 14th century 1. a. on all sides of b. so as to encircle or enclose <seated around the table> c. so as to avoid or get past ; on or to another side of <find a way around their objections> <went around the lake> <around the corner> d. near <lives around Chicago> <around the turn of the century> 2. in all directions outward from <look around you> 3. here and there in or throughout <barnstorming around the country> 4. so as to have a center or basis in <a society organized around kinship ties> III. adjective Date: 1849 1. about 1 <has been up and around for two days> 2. being in existence, evidence, or circulation <the most intelligent of the artists around today — R. M. Coates>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adv. & prep. --adv. 1 on every side; all round; round about. 2 in various places; here and there; at random (fool around; shop around). 3 colloq. a in existence; available (has been around for weeks). b near at hand (it's good to have you around). --prep. 1 on or along the circuit of. 2 on every side of; enveloping. 3 here and there in or near (chairs around the room). 4 US (and increasingly Brit.) a round (the church around the corner). b approximately at; at a time near to (come around four o'clock; happened around June). Phrases and idioms: have been around colloq. be widely experienced. Etymology: A(2) + ROUND

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Around A*round", adv. [Pref. a- + round.] 1. In a circle; circularly; on every side; round. 2. In a circuit; here and there within the surrounding space; all about; as, to travel around from town to town. 3. Near; in the neighborhood; as, this man was standing around when the fight took place. [Colloq. U. S.] Note: See Round, the shorter form, adv. & prep., which, in some of the meanings, is more commonly used.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Around A*round", prep. 1. On all sides of; encircling; encompassing; so as to make the circuit of; about. A lambent flame arose, which gently spread Around his brows. --Dryden. 2. 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.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hem Hem, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hemmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Hemming.] 1. To form a hem or border to; to fold and sew down the edge of. --Wordsworth. 2. To border; to edge All the skirt about Was hemmed with golden fringe. --Spenser. To hem about, around, or in, to inclose and confine; to surround; to environ. ``With valiant squadrons round about to hem.'' --Fairfax. ``Hemmed in to be a spoil to tyranny.'' --Daniel. To hem out, to shut out. ``You can not hem me out of London.'' --J. Webster.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: 'Around' is an adverb and a preposition. In British English, the word 'round' is often used instead. 'Around' is often used with verbs of movement, such as 'walk' and 'drive', and also in phrasal verbs such as 'get around' and 'hand around'. 1. To be positioned around a place or object means to surround it or be on all sides of it. To move around a place means to go along its edge, back to your starting point. She looked at the papers around her... ...a prosperous suburb built around a new mosque. PREP • Around is also an adverb. ...a village with a rocky river, a ruined castle and hills all around... The Memorial seems almost ugly, dominating the landscape for miles around. ADV: n ADV 2. If you move around a corner or obstacle, you move to the other side of it. If you look around a corner or obstacle, you look to see what is on the other side. The photographer stopped clicking and hurried around the corner... I peered around the edge of the shed–there was no sign of anyone else. PREP 3. If you turn around, you turn so that you are facing in the opposite direction. I turned around and wrote the title on the blackboard... He straightened up slowly and spun around on the stool to face us. ADV: ADV after v 4. If you move around a place, you travel through it, going to most of its parts. If you look around a place, you look at every part of it. I've been walking around Moscow and the town is terribly quiet... He glanced discreetly around the room at the other people. PREP • Around is also an adverb. He backed away from the edge, looking all around at the flat horizon. ADV: ADV after v 5. If someone moves around a place, they move through various parts of that place without having any particular destination. They milled around the ballroom with video cameras. PREP • Around is also an adverb. My mornings are spent rushing around after him. ADV: ADV after v 6. If you go around to someone's house, you visit them. She helped me unpack my things and then we went around to see the other girls. ADV: ADV after v 7. You use around in expressions such as sit around and hang around when you are saying that someone is spending time in a place and not doing anything very important. After breakfast the next morning they sat around for an hour discussing political affairs. ADV: ADV after v • Around is also a preposition. He used to skip lessons and hang around the harbor with some other boys. PREP 8. If you move things around, you move them so that they are in different places. She moved things around so the table was beneath the windows. ADV: ADV after v 9. If a wheel or object turns around, it turns. The boat started to spin around in the water. ADV: ADV after v 10. You use around to say that something happens in different parts of a place or area. Elephants were often to be found in swamp in eastern Kenya around the Tana River. ...pests and diseases around the garden. PREP • Around is also an adverb. Giovanni has the best Parma ham for miles around. ADV: ADV after v, n ADV 11. If someone or something is around, they exist or are present in a place. The blackbird had a quick, wary look in case the cat was anywhere around... Just having lots of people around that you can talk to is important... ADV 12. The people around you are the people who you come into contact with, especially your friends and relatives, and the people you work with. We change our behaviour by observing the behaviour of those around us... Those around her would forgive her for weeping. PREP 13. If something such as a film, a discussion, or a plan is based around something, that thing is its main theme. ...the gentle comedy based around the Larkin family... The discussion centered around four subjects. PREP 14. You use around in expressions such as this time around or to come around when you are describing something that has happened before or things that happen regularly. Senator Bentsen has declined to get involved this time around... When July Fourth comes around, the residents of Columbia City throw a noisy party. ADV: n ADV, ADV after v 15. When you are giving measurements, you can use around to talk about the distance along the edge of something round. She was 40 inches around the hips. PREP 16. Around means approximately. My salary was around £19,000 plus a car and expenses... = about ADV • Around is also a preposition. He expects the elections to be held around November. PREP 17. Around about means approximately. (SPOKEN) There is a Green party but it only scored around about 10 percent in the vote... PREP-PHRASE 18. You say all around to indicate that something affects all parts of a situation or all members of a group. He compared the achievements of the British and the French during 1916 and concluded that the latter were better all around. PHRASE: cl PHR 19. If someone has been around, they have had a lot of experience of different people and situations. (INFORMAL) PHRASE 20. the other way around: see way

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. ad. Round, on every side, on all sides, in a circle, right and left. II. prep. About, round, encircling, encompassing, surrounding, on every side of.

Moby Thesaurus

about, again, alive, all about, all over, all round, all through, almost, along toward, anticlockwise, any which way, anyhow, anywise, approximately, at close quarters, at hand, at random, back, backward, by, by way of, circa, clockwise, close, close about, close at hand, close by, close upon, counterclockwise, encircling, enclosing, encompassing, enveloping, every which way, everywhence, everywhere, everywhither, existent, existing, far and wide, fast by, from every quarter, haphazard, haphazardly, hard, hard by, head over heels, heels over head, helter-skelter, here and there, hereabout, hereabouts, in a circle, in a spin, in a whirl, in all directions, in circles, in every quarter, in reverse, in spitting distance, in the neighborhood, in the vicinity, just about, living, near, near at hand, near enough to, near upon, nearabout, nearabouts, nearby, nearly, nigh, nigh about, not far, on all sides, on every side, only a step, over, passing by, passing through, random, randomly, roughly, round, round about, round and round, somewhere about, surrounding, thereabout, thereabouts, through, throughout, upwards of, via, widdershins, within call, within earshot, within hearing, within reach