Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Indirect; circuitous.
- adjective Characterized by indirectness, evasiveness, or vagueness.
- noun A short, close-fitting jacket.
- noun A merry-go-round.
- noun A traffic circle.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Circuitous; tortuous; indirect.
- Comprehensive; taking a wide range.
- Encircling; surrounding; encompassing.
- noun A large horizontal revolving frame, carrying small wooden horses and carriages, sometimes elephants, etc., on or in which children ride; a merry-go-round.
- noun A round dance.
- noun A scene of incessant revolution, change, or vicissitude.
- noun An arm-chair with rounded back and sides.
- noun A short coat or jacket for men and boys, without skirts, which fits the body closely. Also
round jacket . - noun A cyclonic storm.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun British A large horizontal wheel or frame, commonly with wooden horses, etc., on which children ride; a merry-go-round; a carousel.
- noun A dance performed in a circle.
- noun A short, close jacket worn by boys, sailors, etc.
- noun A state or scene of constant change, or of recurring labor and vicissitude.
- noun Chiefly British a
traffic circle . - adjective Circuitous; going round; indirect.
- adjective Encircling; enveloping; comprehensive.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Indirect ,circuitous orcircumlocutionary ; that does not do something in adirect way. - noun chiefly UK A
road junction at whichtraffic streams circularly around acentral island - noun chiefly UK A
children 'splay apparatus , often found inparks , whichrotates around acentral axis whenpushed . - noun A
fairground carousel . - noun A
detour - noun A short,
close-fitting coat orjacket worn by men or boys, especially in the 19th century.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective marked by obliqueness or indirection in speech or conduct
- noun a large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride or amusement
- noun a road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island
- adjective deviating from a straight course
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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"Any time I get a chance to visit Roundabout City, I try to make the most of it," said Howard McCullough, a state highway engineer who carries the title of roundabout specialist for New York.
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There was a very well-known set of local rural toilets here, near a main roundabout but concealed by a miniature forest, wherin many a local reputation was besmirched down the years.
Gents 2007
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There was a very well-known set of local rural toilets here, near a main roundabout but concealed by a miniature forest, wherin many a local reputation was besmirched down the years.
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There was a very well-known set of local rural toilets here, near a main roundabout but concealed by a miniature forest, wherin many a local reputation was besmirched down the years.
Gents 2007
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Another problem is that the word roundabout brings up for many people an image of an old "traffic circle" or, in the Northeast, a "rotary" intersection.
davextreme 2009
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* A old Lysol advertisement, telling people (in roundabout terms) how it was great as a douche.
The Tiptree Auction julieandrews 2010
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* A old Lysol advertisement, telling people (in roundabout terms) how it was great as a douche.
Wiscon 34 - The Tiptree Auction julieandrews 2010
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Austen is pervading my life in roundabout ways, and while it’s nice to watch a movie without the work part of my brain peering at the cars to see what sort of dash kits might be installed, I feel like I’d be much better served by reading her actual work.
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I hope she won’t be too surprised when the roundabout is built off North Avenue down the road ….
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The raised roundabout, which is close to the ICC centre where the Conservative party is due to start its conference on Sunday, stands at the junction of several routes into the centre of Birmingham.
Birmingham traffic brought to standstill by man on bridge Matthew Weaver 2010
chained_bear commented on the word roundabout
It's about damn time, too. "...a larger question here is whether people who cannot manage to merge at low speed into a counter-clockwise circle and, yes, perhaps even change lanes in that circle, before finding the correct exit should actually be holding licenses that enable them to operate heavy machinery in the first place." Well spake, sir.
July 20, 2009
reesetee commented on the word roundabout
I agree! But we're already used to roundabouts in these parts.
I should say some of us are already used to roundabouts....
July 20, 2009
bilby commented on the word roundabout
Ewww, didn't like this verbing:
"Reports FHWA: Only 10% of all intersections are signalized ..."
Anecdotally, yeh, I see less carnage at roundabouts than at other places around the roads. For the record, we are not encouraged to change lanes in a roundabout. The mantra on the TV ads goes "left lane in, left lane out; right lane in, right lane out." Presumably, if we had 3 lane roundabouts this far north, we would also have centre lane in, centre lane out.
July 21, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word roundabout
I haven't noticed more or less carnage (thank heaven), even anecdotally, but I have noticed that 1) people slow the hell down and look around them, which (sadly) is unusual these days, and 2) despite the slowing-down, traffic moves more efficiently in them than at intersections with lights and lanes all over the place. To me those are reasons enough to use more roundabouts.
*suddenly breaks into air guitar of that Yes song*
July 21, 2009