round up

IPA/ˈraʊnd.ʌp/
IPA/ˈraʊnd.ʌp/

round up — noun

1. An event in which people, animals, or items are brought together from many diffe

1.nounB1
Definition

An event in which people, animals, or items are brought together from many different places and gathered into one area.

Example

Camila helped organize the round up of stray dogs in her neighbourhood.

collocation: round up of [animals]

The annual round up of cattle on the ranch took place before the first snow.

Common collocations
  • round up of cattle
  • round up of suspects
  • round up of volunteers
  • annual round up
  • charity round up
Synonyms
  • gathering

    more general; can be voluntary — a round up implies active bringing-together

  • collection

    focuses on the items themselves rather than the act of bringing them in

  • assembly

    more formal; usually of people who come together on their own

Antonyms
  • dispersal

    sending people or things away in different directions

Grammar Patterns

round up of + noun

Usage Note

Often followed by 'of' + the kind of thing being gathered, e.g. 'a round up of suspects', 'a round up of old furniture'.

2. A short television or radio segment that sums up recent news or provides highlig

2.nounB2
Definition

A short television or radio segment that sums up recent news or provides highlights on a specific subject.

Example

Tune in at ten o'clock for a round up of today's top stories.

collocation: round up of top stories

Brandon listened to the sports round up on the radio during his morning run.

Common collocations
  • news round up
  • sports round up
  • weather round up
  • business round up
  • round up of the day's events
Synonyms
  • summary

    broader; can be written — round up is specifically a broadcast

  • recap

    less formal; more conversational

  • digest

    often shorter and more condensed than a round up

Grammar Patterns

[topic] round up

Usage Note

Commonly used with a topic word before it (news round up, sports round up, weather round up, business round up). More frequent in British English than American English.

round up — phrasal verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: phrasal verb/1

These verbs all describe bringing things or people together, but 'round up' adds the idea of actively finding items that are scattered. 'Gather' is the most general word — you can gather flowers, people, or information without implying effort. 'Collect' suggests systematic picking up one by one (collecting donations, collecting stamps), whereas rounding up is about getting a group together when they are spread out. 'Assemble' is more formal and often describes people coming together voluntarily for a meeting. 'Muster' carries a military or formal tone and implies summoning people for a purpose. For example: 'The teacher gathered the children.' feels gentle; 'The camp counsellor rounded up the children before dark.' suggests scattered kids who needed finding; 'The general mustered his troops.' is formal and hierarchical.

gather ↗collect ↗assemble ↗muster ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • round up the usual suspects
  • round up support for
  • round up the troops

Prepositions

Etymology

American English (cattle ranching)English

The expression 'round up' comes from 19th-century American cattle ranching. Cowboys would ride in a wide circle — or 'round' — to find scattered cattle and drive them together. The particle 'up' adds the sense of completion: the cattle are fully gathered. By the 1830s, 'round-up' was used as a noun for the event itself. The meaning later extended beyond ranching to gathering people (round up the children) and summarizing information (news round up). The police-capture meaning emerged in the early 1900s.