Round, a.
1. Having every portion of the surface or of the circumference equally distant from the center; spherical; circular; having a form approaching a spherical or a circular shape; orbicular; globular; as, a round ball. “The big, round tears.”
Upon the firm opacous globe
Of this round world. --Milton.
2. Having the form of a cylinder; cylindrical; as, the barrel of a musket is round.
3. Having a curved outline or form; especially, one like the arc of a circle or an ellipse, or a portion of the surface of a sphere; rotund; bulging; protuberant; not angular or pointed; as, a round arch; round hills. “Their round haunches gored.”
4. Full; complete; not broken; not fractional; approximately in even units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.; -- said of numbers.
Pliny put a round number near the truth, rather than the fraction. --Arbuthnot.
5. Not inconsiderable; large; hence, generous; free; as, a round price.
Three thousand ducats; 'tis a good round sum. --Shak.
Round was their pace at first, but slackened soon. --Tennyson.
6. Uttered or emitted with a full tone; as, a round voice; a round note.
7. Phonetics Modified, as a vowel, by contraction of the lip opening, making the opening more or less round in shape; rounded; labialized; labial. See Guide to Pronunciation, § 11.
8. Outspoken; plain and direct; unreserved; unqualified; not mincing; as, a round answer; a round oath. “The round assertion.”
Sir Toby, I must be round with you. --Shak.
9. Full and smoothly expanded; not defective or abrupt; finished; polished; -- said of style, or of authors with reference to their style. [Obs.]
In his satires Horace is quick, round, and pleasant. --Peacham.
10. Complete and consistent; fair; just; -- applied to conduct.
Round dealing is the honor of man's nature. --Bacon.
At a round rate, rapidly. --Dryden.
In round numbers, approximately in even units, tens, hundreds, etc.; as, a bin holding 99 or 101 bushels may be said to hold in round numbers 100 bushels.
Round bodies Geom., the sphere right cone, and right cylinder.
Round clam Zool., the quahog.
Round dance one which is danced by couples with a whirling or revolving motion, as the waltz, polka, etc.
Round game, a game, as of cards, in which each plays on his own account.
Round hand, a style of penmanship in which the letters are formed in nearly an upright position, and each separately distinct; -- distinguished from running hand.
Round robin.
Round shot, a solid spherical projectile for ordnance.
Round Table, the table about which sat King Arthur and his knights. See Knights of the Round Table, under Knight.
Round tower, one of certain lofty circular stone towers, tapering from the base upward, and usually having a conical cap or roof, which crowns the summit, -- found chiefly in Ireland. They are of great antiquity, and vary in heigh from thirty-five to one hundred and thiry feet.
Round trot, one in which the horse throws out his feet roundly; a full, brisk, quick trot. --Addison.
Round turn Naut., one turn of a rope round a timber, a belaying pin, etc.
To bring up with a round turn, to stop abruptly. [Colloq.]
Syn: -- Circular; spherical; globular; globase; orbicular; orbed; cylindrical; full; plump; rotund.
Tow·er n.
1. Arch. (a) A mass of building standing alone and insulated, usually higher than its diameter, but when of great size not always of that proportion. (b) A projection from a line of wall, as a fortification, for purposes of defense, as a flanker, either or the same height as the curtain wall or higher. (c) A structure appended to a larger edifice for a special purpose, as for a belfry, and then usually high in proportion to its width and to the height of the rest of the edifice; as, a church tower.
2. A citadel; a fortress; hence, a defense.
Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. --Ps. lxi. 3.
3. A headdress of a high or towerlike form, fashionable about the end of the seventeenth century and until 1715; also, any high headdress.
Lay trains of amorous intrigues
In towers, and curls, and periwigs. --Hudibras.
4. High flight; elevation. [Obs.]
Gay Lussac's tower Chem., a large tower or chamber used in the sulphuric acid process, to absorb (by means of concentrated acid) the spent nitrous fumes that they may be returned to the Glover's tower to be reemployed. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric, and Glover's tower, below.
Glover's tower Chem., a large tower or chamber used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, to condense the crude acid and to deliver concentrated acid charged with nitrous fumes. These fumes, as a catalytic, effect the conversion of sulphurous to sulphuric acid. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric, and Gay Lussac's tower, above.
Round tower. See under Round, a.
Shot tower. See under Shot.
Tower bastion Fort., a bastion of masonry, often with chambers beneath, built at an angle of the interior polygon of some works.
Tower mustard Bot., the cruciferous plant Arabis perfoliata.
Tower of London, a collection of buildings in the eastern part of London, formerly containing a state prison, and now used as an arsenal and repository of various objects of public interest.