round up

To find and bring people or things together in one place.

• Let’s round up some volunteers.
• She rounded up enough chairs for everyone.
• Can you round the team up before lunch?

How to use it: round someone/something up (Can you round everyone up for the meeting?)

Similar words: gather, collect, assemble

Opposites: scatter

Common phrases: round up volunteers, round up something, round up everyone

To change a number to a higher, simpler number, usually a whole number.

• Round up 4.2 to 5.
• We rounded the price up to ten euros.
• Should I round this amount up to the nearest hundred?

How to use it: round something up to a number (Round the total up to twenty pounds.)

Similar words: aggregate, bracket, aggroup, collect

Opposites: round down

Common phrases: round up something, round up prices, round up totals

To bring farm animals together, often by moving around them and guiding them to one place.

• We need to round up the sheep.
• The riders rounded up the cattle.
• Her dog helps her round the animals up.

How to use it: round animals up (The farmer rounded the sheep up before dark.)

Similar words: herd, gather

Common phrases: round up cattle, round up sheep, round up livestock

To arrest or hold a whole group of people, often because they belong to that group.

• Police rounded up dozens of protesters.
• The soldiers rounded up every man in the village.
• Members of the minority group were rounded up without evidence.

How to use it: round people up (Soldiers rounded the villagers up and held them overnight.)

Similar words: arrest, detain

Opposites: release

Common phrases: round up suspects, round up protesters, round up people