Definition of Roundabout

1. Noun. A road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island. "The accident blocked all traffic at the rotary"

Exact synonyms: Circle, Rotary, Traffic Circle
Generic synonyms: Junction
Group relationships: Road, Route

2. Adjective. Marked by obliqueness or indirection in speech or conduct. "Hear in a roundabout way that her ex-husband was marrying her best friend"
Exact synonyms: Circuitous
Similar to: Indirect

3. Noun. A large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride or amusement.
Exact synonyms: Carousel, Carrousel, Merry-go-round, Whirligig
Generic synonyms: Ride

4. Adjective. Deviating from a straight course. "A roundabout route avoided rush-hour traffic"
Exact synonyms: Circuitous, Devious
Similar to: Indirect
Derivative terms: Deviousness

Definition of Roundabout

1. a. Circuitous; going round; indirect; as, roundabout speech.

2. n. A horizontal wheel or frame, commonly with wooden horses, etc., on which children ride; a merry-go-round.

Definition of Roundabout

1. Adjective. Indirect, circuitous or circumlocutionary; that does not do something in a direct way. ¹

2. Noun. (chiefly UK New Zealand and Australia) A road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island ¹

3. Noun. (chiefly British) A children's play apparatus, often found in parks, which rotates around a central axis when pushed. ¹

4. Noun. A fairground carousel. ¹

5. Noun. A detour ¹

6. Noun. A short, close-fitting coat or jacket worn by men or boys, especially in the 19th century. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Roundabout

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Roundabout

1. 1. A horizontal wheel or frame, commonly with wooden horses, etc, on which children ride; a merry-go-round. 2. A dance performed in a circle. 3. A short, close jacket worn by boys, sailors, etc. 4. A state or scene of constant change, or of recurring labour and vicissitude. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Roundabout

round tables
round the Horn
round the bend
round the clock
round the twist
round top
round trip
round trips
round tuit
round tuits
round turn
round turns
round up
round whitefish
round window
roundabout
roundabout way
roundaboutly
roundaboutness
roundabouts
roundarm
roundball
rounded down
rounded off
rounded out
rounded up
rounded vowel
rounded vowels

Literary usage of Roundabout

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Transportation Rates and Their Regulation: A Study of the Transportation by Harry Gunnison Brown (1916)
"Such a situation may exist when one of the lines connecting two junction points is appreciably more roundabout than the other or others. ..."

2. Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern by Edward Cornelius Towne (1898)
"God ruleth all, he wills it so: And roundabout, and roundabout, and roundabout ... And roundabout, and roundabout, and roundabout I go, The way o' the wind, ..."

3. Principles of Commerce: A Study of the Mechanism, the Advantages, and the by Harry Gunnison Brown (1916)
"Such a situation may exist when one of the lines connecting two junction points is appreciably more roundabout than the other or others. ..."

4. Value and Distribution: An Historical, Critical, and Constructive Study in by Charles William Macfarlane (1898)
"Roundabout Methods of Production.—It is a fact of common experience that roundabout methods of production are generally more profitable than direct methods. ..."

5. The Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament by George V. Wigram (1866)
"Lift up thine eyes roundabout, Jer. J : 15. against all the walls thereof ... (were) upon thy walls roundabout, — their shields upon thy walls round about; ..."

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