roundabout

[adj. round-uh-bout, round-uh-bout; n. round-uh-bout] /adj. ˌraʊnd əˈbaʊt, ˈraʊnd əˌbaʊt; n. ˈraʊnd əˌbaʊt/
adjective
1.
circuitous or indirect, as a road, journey, method, statement or person.
2.
(of clothing) cut circularly at the bottom; having no tails, train, or the like.
noun
3.
a short, close-fitting coat or jacket worn by men or boys, especially in the 19th century.
4.
British. a merry-go-round.
5.
a circuitous or indirect road, method, etc.
6.
Chiefly British, traffic circle.
Origin
1525-35; round1 (adv.) + about
Synonyms
1. meandering, twisting, rambling, tortuous.
Examples from the web for roundabout
  • On one end, the path circles an in-ground sandbox, making a roundabout for the three-wheelers.
  • The procedure is rather roundabout because it starts off with the unphysical concept of the bare electron.
  • But in a roundabout way that is exactly what many people do.
  • We take a roundabout route-some driving, some walking.
  • No one has been arrested, and his picture still sits in the middle of the roundabout where he was killed.
  • We would direct the driver to go a roundabout way, or to take a less traveled street.
  • What's more, researchers say that such systems could also be a roundabout way to protect endangered species.
  • And it does this in this roundabout way of giving tax benefits to married couples.
  • If she was going home, it appeared she was taking a roundabout way.
  • The roundabout bird-pig-human route may be less common than the straight bird-human jump, but it may be more problematic.
British Dictionary definitions for roundabout

roundabout

/ˈraʊndəˌbaʊt/
noun
1.
(Brit) a revolving circular platform provided with wooden animals, seats, etc, on which people ride for amusement; merry-go-round
2.
a road junction in which traffic streams circulate around a central island US and Canadian name traffic circle
3.
an informal name for boring mill
adjective
4.
indirect or circuitous; devious
adverb, preposition
5.
on all sides: spectators standing round about
6.
approximately: at round about 5 o'clock
Word Origin and History for roundabout
adv.

"by a circuitous route," mid-14c., from round (adv.) + about. As an adjective from c.1600. Noun sense of "traffic circle" is attested from 1927.