Dictionary

roundhouse en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈɹaʊndˌhaʊs/ (General-American)

Etymology

From round + house, a calque of Dutch rondhuis (“guardhouse”). First attested in the Mid-15th c.

Meanings

1. A circular prison, especially a small local lockup or station house.
   • [T]he gentlemen in the coffee room insisted upon the watch being called, or a constable. With considerable difficulty the two heroes were carried off to the round-house, and there lodged for the night. 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 137
2. A traditional circular dwelling elevated on stilts with a conical roof found in part of Southeast Asia.
   • All the time six or eight large Chinese gongs were being beaten by the vigorous arms of as many young men, producing such a deafening discord that I was glad to escape to the round house, where I slept very comfortably with half a dozen smoke-dried human skulls suspended over my head. 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 110:
3. A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe in the Iron Age and Bronze Age.
   • A central stone slab cist containing the burial was surrounded by a circles of stones placed on edge, probably to represent the round house in which the deceased had lived. 2019, Alan Staniforth, Cleveland Way, page 66:
4. (historical) The uppermost room or cabin of any note upon the stern of a ship.
5. (historical) A privy near the bow of a vessel, especially as reserved for officers.
6. A circular building in which locomotives are housed, sometimes with a turntable.
   • Crewe North Motive Power Depot is to be modernised completely. This includes the provision of a new coaling plant, ash handling plant, and two new locomotive sheds of the latest roundhouse type, each with 32 roads radiating from a 70-ft. dia. turntable. 1948 November and December, “Crewe M.P.D. to be Modernised”, in Railway Magazine, page 372:
   • Archaeologists working on HS2 in Birmingham have uncovered the remains of what is believed to be the world's oldest railway roundhouse at Curzon Street station. 2020 March 25, “Network News: HS2 work uncovers oldest roundhouse”, in Rail, page 16:
7. (US) A punch or kick delivered with an exaggerated sweeping movement.
8. In the game of pinochle, a meld consisting of a queen and king in each of the four suits.

Forms

Coordinates

wheelhouse · wheelhouse · pilothouse · big house

Deriveds

Atlantic roundhouse · roundhouse kick · roundhouseman

Hypernyms

head · jailhouse

Relateds

engine shed

Translations (17)

pl parowozownia (a circular building in which locomotives are housed) · gl casa circular (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe) · pl okrągły dom (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe) · da rundhus (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe) · ru ве́ерное депо́ (a circular building in which locomotives are housed) · ru круглый дом (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe) · bg депо (a circular building in which locomotives are housed) · fi veturitalli (a circular building in which locomotives are housed) · de Rundhaus (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe) · cs rotunda (a circular building in which locomotives are housed) · gd taigh-cruinn (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe) · cy cwt crwn (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe) · ga teach lár deice (a circular building in which locomotives are housed) · nb rundhus (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe) · chr ᎦᏐᏆᎳ ᎦᎵᏦᏕ (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe) · ja 円形機関車庫 (a circular building in which locomotives are housed) · ga teach cruinn (A prehistoric dwelling typical of northwest Europe)

roundhouse en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈɹaʊndˌhaʊs/ (General-American)

Etymology

From round + house, a calque of Dutch rondhuis (“guardhouse”). First attested in the Mid-15th c.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To punch or kick with an exaggerated sweeping movement.
   • We focused on the nerve-agent feint, and got roundhoused by the insurgent hook. 2008 March 16, Nathaniel Fick, “Worries Over Being ‘Slimed’”, in New York Times:
   • I'm on my feet and my fist is roundhousing and I feel flesh. I hit again, and teeth crack under my fist. I hear voices and they're shouting and a light burns into my face. 2009, Diane Tullson, Riley Park, page 18:

Forms