around

/əˈraʊnd/ adverb, preposition

Definition

IN A CIRCLE (also UK round) › on all sides of something: They sat around the table. He put his arms around her waist.

DIRECTION (also UK round) › to the opposite direction: He turned around and looked at her.

CIRCULAR MOVEMENT (also UK round) › in a circular movement: This lever turns the wheels around.

ALONG OUTSIDE (also UK round) › along the outside of something, not through it: You have to walk around the house to get to the garden.

TO A PLACE (also UK round) › to or in different parts of a place: She showed me around the museum. I spent a year travelling around Australia.

SEVERAL PLACES (also UK round) › from one place or person to another: She passed a plate of biscuits around. There's a virus going around the school.

HERE › here, or near this place: Is Roger around?

EXISTING › present or available: Mobile phones have been around for years now.

APPROXIMATELY › used before a number or amount to mean 'approximately': around four o'clock around twenty thousand pounds → See also throw your weight around

(Definition of around adverbpreposition from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)