Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To gather or collect people or animals together, often by moving them from various places into one group: The core meaning involves actively seeking out and assembling a scattered group.
   • To bring together for a specific purpose, such as an event, meeting, or action: Often implies an organized effort to convene individuals.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • The shepherd needed to round up the sheep before the storm. (The shepherd needed to gather the scattered sheep into one group.)
  • Can you help me round up the committee members for the emergency meeting? (Can you help me find and assemble the committee members?)
  • The police rounded up the usual suspects for questioning. (The police collected the typical suspects together.)

Advanced Usage

• "to round up support/votes": To actively gather or secure support or votes from various people.
  • The candidate spent the final week trying to round up undecided voters.
• "to round up a number": In mathematics, to increase a number to the nearest whole number or specified decimal place. (Note: This is a distinct, common meaning but uses the same phrasal verb form.)
  • Round up 4.7 to the nearest whole number, and you get 5.

Variants and Related Words

• Roundup (noun): An act of gathering people or animals together.
  • The annual cattle roundup begins next week.
• Round (verb, adjective, noun, adverb, preposition): The base word with many meanings, including circular shape, a stage of competition, or to make something circular.

Synonyms

• Assemble: To bring together.
• Gather: To come or bring together.
• Muster: To assemble, especially for military service or inspection.
• Corral: To gather and confine (often used for livestock).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Round off: To conclude or finish something smoothly.
  • Let's round off the evening with a nightcap.
• Round on: To suddenly turn and attack someone verbally or physically.
  • He suddenly rounded on his critics during the interview.

Related Idioms

• Round up the usual suspects: A phrase meaning to investigate or blame the people typically suspected in a situation, often used humorously or cynically. It originates from the film .
  • The source of the rumor is unknown, so they just rounded up the usual suspects.

Verb

1. seek out and bring together
   • round up some loyal followers