Rounded

How to spell rounded

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce rounded

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rounded mean?

1. adjectiveHaving a smooth, curved shape rather than sharp angles or edges.
2. verbPast tense of round: moved around something, or made a figure into a simpler whole number.

Rounded in a sentence

• adjective

  The new desks had rounded corners to protect the children.

• verb

  The taxi rounded the corner and pulled up at the hotel.

• adjective

  She preferred the rounded edges of the older furniture.

• verb

  The accountant rounded the total to the nearest pound.

Where does rounded come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from 'round', which English took from Old French ront, roont and reont in the early 1300s. Those French forms came in turn from the Latin rotundus, meaning 'circular' or 'wheel-shaped', a word built directly on rota, the Latin for 'wheel'. The same rota lineage still turns up in modern words such as 'rotate' and 'rotund', so the idea of a wheel sits quietly behind all of them. English added the native suffix -ed to make both the past tense of the verb and the adjective describing something given a curved or smooth shape. The spelling is straightforward, with the only mild trap being the silent feel of the doubled-sounding 'ound' cluster, which never doubles its consonants.

How the word is built

• round (curved, circular; from Latin rotundus)
• -ed (past-tense and adjective suffix)