rotunda

noun

ro·​tun·​da rō-ˈtən-də 

1

: a round building

especially : one covered by a dome

2

a

: a large round room

b

: a large central area (as in a hotel)

Examples of rotunda in a Sentence

We stood inside the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building.

Recent Examples on the Web

Normally, inaugurations take place outside, but this year’s was moved into the U.S. Capitol’s rotunda due to extremely cold weather. —Fabrizio Bensch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Jan. 2025

Tech leaders including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were at the Capitol rotunda Monday for Trump’s inauguration. —Tara Suter, The Hill, 23 Jan. 2025

For the certification, Senate pages carried the Electoral College ballot boxes through the rotunda like caskets in a funeral procession. —Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2025

Since Trump’s Inauguration has moved indoors to the U.S. Capitol rotunda, only a few hundred people are expected to be in attendance. —Chantelle Lee, TIME, 20 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian rotonda, from Latin rotunda, feminine of rotundus

First Known Use

circa 1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing rotunda

• fenestra rotunda

Rhymes for rotunda

• lunda
• munda

Kids Definition

rotunda

noun

ro·​tun·​da rō-ˈtən-də 

1

: a round building

especially : one covered by a dome

2

a

: a large round room

b

: a large central area (as in a hotel)

Medical Definition

rotunda

see fenestra rotunda