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in round numbers

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*in round numbers

 and *in round figures

Fig. as an estimated number; a figure that has been rounded off. (*Typically: be ~; express something ~; write something ~.) Please tell me in round numbers what it'll cost. I don't need the exact amount. Just give it to me in round figures.

See also: number, round

in round numbers

Also, in round figures. As an approximate estimate. For example, How much will the new highway cost, in round numbers? or In round figures a diamond of this quality is worth five thousand dollars, but it depends on the market at the time of selling . This idiom, which uses round in the sense of "whole" or "rounded off," is sometimes used very loosely, as Thomas Hardy did in Far from the Madding Crowd (1874): "Well, ma'am, in round numbers, she's run away with the soldiers." [Mid-1600s] Also see ballpark figure.

See also: number, round