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Along vs Around - What's the difference?

along | around |

As prepositions the difference between along and around

is that along is by the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to while around is defining a circle or closed curve containing a thing.

As adverbs the difference between along and around

is that along is in company; together while around is generally.

As an adjective around is

alive; existing.

along

English

Preposition

(English prepositions)
  • By the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to.
  • * {{quote-book, 1892, Sir (Arthur Conan Doyle), chapter=(The Adventure of the Cooper Beeches), (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), page=294 citation
  • , passage=They were waiting for me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windows reaching down to the floor}}
  • * , chapter=3
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Stephen P. Lownie], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/david-m-pelz David M. Pelz
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Stents to Prevent Stroke , passage=As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.}}
  • In a line with, with a progressive motion on; onward on; forward on.
  • * Bible, 1 (w) vi. 12
  • The kinewent along the highway.
  • * {{quote-book, 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, chapter=The Tutor's Daughter, Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page=266 citation
  • , passage=In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.}}
  • * {{quote-book, 1892, Sir (Arthur Conan Doyle), chapter=(The Boscombe Valley Mystery), (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), page=93 citation
  • , passage=Swiftly and silently he made his way along the track which ran through the meadows.}}
  • * , chapter=13
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time.}}

    Synonyms

    * alongst (archaic)

    Derived terms

    * alongside * herealong * therealong * wherealong

    Adverb

    (-)
  • In company; together.
  • Onward, forward, with progressive action.
  • * , chapter=1
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.}}

    Synonyms

    * alongst (archaic)

    Derived terms

    * go along to get along

    Derived terms

    {{der3 , all along , along of , along the lines , along those lines , along with , come along , get along , rock along }}

    Statistics

    *

    around

    English

    (translation tables should match senses)

    Alternative forms

    * arownd (obsolete)

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Defining a circle or closed curve containing a thing.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
  • , title= Geothermal Energy , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.}}
  • Following the perimeter of a specified area and returning to the starting point.
  • Following a path which curves near an object, with the object on the inside of the curve.
  • *
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
  • , passage=But Richmond
  • Near; in the vicinity of.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-26, author=(Leo Hickman)
  • , volume=189, issue=7, page=26, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= How algorithms rule the world , passage=The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives. And, as their ubiquity spreads, so too does the debate around whether we should allow ourselves to become so reliant on them – and who, if anyone, is policing their use.}}
  • At various places in.
  • * , chapter=10
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=Men that I knew around Wapatomac didn't wear high, shiny plug hats, nor yeller spring overcoats, nor carry canes with ivory heads as big as a catboat's anchor, as you might say.}}

    Derived terms

    * all around * aroundness * around the clock * around the bend * around the corner * around the world * bat around * beat around the bush * get around * go around * hang around * have been around * ring-around-the-rosy * round * run around/run-around/runaround * turn around/turnaround * wrap around/wraparound

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Alive; existing.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Lee S. Langston
  • , title= The Adaptable Gas Turbine , passage=Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo'', meaning ''vortex , and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.}}

    Derived terms

    * be around

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Generally.
  • From place to place.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-05-11, volume=407, issue=8835, page=80, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The climate of Tibet: Pole-land , passage=Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around , it changes everything.}}
  • From one state or condition to an opposite or very different one; with a metaphorical change in direction; bringing about awareness or agreement.
  • (see bring around, come around)
    (see bring around, come around)
  • Partially or completely rotated, including to face in the opposite direction.
  • Derived terms

    (indicating repeated or continuous action) * boss around * fool around * fuck around * goof around * horse around * lie around * lounge around * mess around * monkey around * play around * shop around * sleep around (from place to place) * kick around * know one's way around * (soplink) * (soplink) * (soplink) * (soplink) * push around * (soplink)

    See also

    * about