Definition

1. Adverb:

   • With an outward or horizontal swing of the arm: Describes the action of throwing or bowling a ball with the arm extended and swinging in a horizontal arc, not vertically.

2. Adjective:

   • With the arm swung round at shoulder height: Describes a style of bowling or throwing where the arm is kept relatively straight and swings horizontally, approximately at the level of the shoulder.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:

  • The cricketer bowled round-arm, a style popular in the 19th century.
  • He served the tennis ball round-arm in an unorthodox manner.

• Adjective:

  • The match featured round-arm bowling, which was a revolutionary technique at the time.
  • Her round-arm throw made it difficult for the batter to judge the ball's trajectory.

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in the context of sports, particularly cricket, to describe a historical bowling style that was an evolutionary step between underarm and overarm bowling.
• It can be used metaphorically to describe any similar horizontal, sweeping arm motion outside of sports, though this is rare.
  • He gestured round-arm to encompass the entire chaotic scene.

Variants and Related Words

• Roundarm (adj/adv): An alternative, often hyphenated, spelling of "round-arm."
• Underarm (adj/adv): With the arm swung below the shoulder, typically in an upward motion.
• Overarm (adj/adv): With the arm swung over the shoulder in a vertical arc.

Synonyms

• Horizontal-arm (context-specific, not standard)
• Sidearm (This is a close synonym, especially in baseball and other throwing contexts, though "sidearm" often implies a lower, more side-whip release point than the classic cricket "round-arm.")

Related Phrases

• Round-arm delivery: The specific act of bowling or throwing the ball in a round-arm style.
  • His round-arm delivery was surprisingly fast.
• Round-arm action: Refers to the biomechanical movement of the arm in this style.
  • The coach analyzed the bowler's round-arm action.

Notes

• "Round-arm" is a specialized term. Its primary and most recognized usage is in the sport of cricket, where it denotes a specific historical bowling technique. Its use in other contexts is an extension of this core meaning.

Adverb

1. with an outward or horizontal swing of the arm
   • he hit the ball round-arm

Adjective

1. with the arm swung round at shoulder height
   • round-arm bowling