Are the words “around” and “round” interchangeable? Yes. Except for when they’re not. The problem is that these terms have several uses between them, but only some uses overlap. To make sure your written work is error free, then, check out our guide to using these words correctly.
We typically use “around” to describe the position or movement of something. This can include any of the following:
In each of these cases, “around” works as either an adverb or a preposition. We can see how each use works in practice in the examples below:
We can also use “round” in any of these sentences. For instance:
When discussing the position or movement of something, then, you can treat “around” and “round” as synonyms. However, “around” is usually the better choice in formal writing.
Another use of “around” is as an adverb meaning “roughly” or “approximately.” For example, we could say:
I have around $150 to last the next month.
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But even if we can use “around” in relation to numbers, this should not be confused with “rounding” a number up or down. Nor is it the same as describing something as a “round number” in math.
The word “round” has other uses as a noun, verb, and adjective. As a noun, for example, it can mean any of the following:
As a verb, meanwhile, in addition to “rounding” a number, it can refer to:
Finally, as an adjective, it can mean “circular” or “plump.” In short, “round” has a lot of meanings! However, we cannot use “around” in its place for any of these noun, verb, or adjective uses.
While “round” can be an informal alternative to “around” when used to describe the movement or position of something, this is not the case with other uses of these words. Remember:
So it is only with respect to movement or positioning that these terms are interchangeable. And if you’d like help checking you’ve used these terms correctly, just let us know.
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