Skip to main content
PlainSpell

roundabout

/ˈɹaʊndəˌbaʊt/adjective, noun, verb

roundabout is spelled R-O-U-N-D-A-B-O-U-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, roundabout means “Indirect, circuitous, or circumlocutionary” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in roundabout?

Letters10: R-O-U-N-D-A-B-O-U-T
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing2.1 times per million words; the 18,811th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is roundabout?

Roundabout appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce roundabout?

  • /ˈɹaʊndəˌbaʊt/
  • /ˈɹuːndəˌbuːt/

Roundabout has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-roundabout.ogg, En-au-roundabout.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with roundabout

Also written: round about (one word or two).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of roundabout

  • more roundabout comparative
  • most roundabout superlative
  • roundabouts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • roundabouting participle, present
  • roundabouted participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does roundabout mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Indirect, circuitous, or circumlocutionary.

  2. 2

    Encircling; enveloping; comprehensive.

noun

  1. 1

    AustraliaCanadaIrelandUKUSA road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island.

  2. 2

    UKA horizontal wheel which rotates around a central axis when pushed and on which children ride, often found in parks as a children's play apparatus.

  3. 3

    A fairground carousel.

  4. 4

    A detour.

  5. 5

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

  6. 6

    archaicA round dance.

verb

  1. 1

    To play on a roundabout (carousel)

  2. 2

    To travel round roundabouts

  3. 3

    To talk in a roundabout, indirect manner

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Roundabout in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanumständlich, verschleiert (circuitous), allumfassend, übergreifend, universal, allseitig (comprehensive)
Portugueseperifrástico, circunloquial (circuitous), rotatória, rotunda (road junction at which traffic streams…), gira-gira (children’s play apparatus which rotates around…), desvio (detour)
Frenchrond-point, giratoire (road junction at which traffic streams…), tourniquet (children’s play apparatus which rotates around…)
Spanishrotonda, glorieta, redoma (road junction at which traffic streams…), tiovivo (children’s play apparatus which rotates around…), desvío (detour)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does roundabout come from?

From round + about [from early 20th c.].

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after roundabout