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Synonyms

round robin

American  
Or round-robin

noun

  1. a sequence or series.

  2. a petition, remonstrance, or the like, having the signatures arranged in circular form so as to disguise the order of signing.

  3. a letter, notice, or the like, circulated from person to person in a group, often with individual comments being added by each.

  4. Sports. a tournament in which all of the entrants play each other at least once, failure to win a contest not resulting in elimination.

round robin British  

noun

  1. a letter, esp a petition or protest, having the signatures in a circle in order to disguise the order of signing

  2. any letter or petition signed by a number of people

  3. a tournament, as in a competitive game or sport, in which each player plays against every other player

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
round robin Idioms  

  1. A petition or other document signed by several persons in sequence, so that no one can tell who was the first to sign it. For example, We decided to send a round robin to management to protest the new rules about work hours . This term originally referred to a grievance presented by seamen to their captain, called round because of the circular sequence of names, but the source of robin has been lost. [Early 1700s]

  2. In sports, a tournament in which each player or team plays against all of the others in turn. For example, The club always holds a tennis round robin on the Fourth of July . [Late 1800s]

Etymology

Origin of round robin

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The wheelchair curling team round robin comes to an end.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

Not even from dreaded rival Canada, which was missing injured star Marie-Philip Poulin, and fell to Team USA 5-0 in the opening round robin.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

Next February's 75th NBA All-Star Game will feature a three-team round robin tournament with two teams of United States players and a World squad of global talent, the league announced on Tuesday.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

Gunn was swept out of the round robin portion of the women’s breaking competition on Friday, with the judges scoring each of her three bouts 18-0 in favor of her opponents.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2024

Men all in a panic of fear; sent a round robin, asking to have double watch, as they fear to be alone.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.