1 A2 idiomatic neutral
To collect or gather a group of people or animals and bring them together.
"The teacher rounded up the students and led them back to the classroom."
separable
round up
A2 neutral separable transitive
To gather people or animals together, or to increase a number to the nearest convenient whole figure.
In plain English
To collect a group of people or animals in one place, or to make a number a bit bigger so it's easier to use.
What does "round up" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 A2 neutral
To increase a number to the nearest whole number or a higher convenient figure.
"The bill was £9.60, so I rounded it up to £10 and kept it simple."
separable
3 B1 idiomatic neutral
To arrest or detain a group of people, often by authorities.
"Police rounded up several suspects in connection with the robbery."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To bring something up into a rounded (whole) number, or physically to drive animals into a rounded group.
Actually means
To collect a group of people or animals in one place, or to make a number a bit bigger so it's easier to use.
Usage tip
Has two very common senses: (1) collecting/gathering — often used for rounding up cattle, suspects, or volunteers; (2) numerical rounding — standard in everyday maths. The gathering sense can have negative connotations when used of people being detained by authorities.
Words that pair with "round up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
suspects cattle volunteers number total children
How to conjugate "round up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
round up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
rounds up
he/she/it
Past simple
rounded up
yesterday
Past participle
rounded up
have + pp
-ing form
rounding up
continuous
Hear "round up" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "round up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
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