Around vs Until - What's the difference?
around | until |
Defining a circle or closed curve containing a thing.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
, title= 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= *{{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= At various places in.
* , chapter=10
, title= Alive; existing.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, title= 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= From one state or condition to an opposite or very different one; with a metaphorical change in direction; bringing about awareness or agreement.
Partially or completely rotated, including to face in the opposite direction.
Up to the time of (something happening).
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)
, volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= Before (a time).
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1
, passage=I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.}}
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=
, volume=189, issue=2, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= (obsolete) To; physically towards.
* Spenser
Up to the time that (a condition becomes true).
*
*:It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street.. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)
, volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= Before (a condition becoming true).
*
*:It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.
As prepositions the difference between around and until
is that around is defining a circle or closed curve containing a thing while until is up to the time of (something happening).As an adjective around
is alive; existing.As an adverb around
is generally.As a conjunction until is
up to the time that (a condition becomes true).around
English
(translation tables should match senses)Alternative forms
* arownd (obsolete)Preposition
(English prepositions)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.}}
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.}}
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.}}
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/wraparoundAdjective
(-)Lee S. Langston
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 aroundAdverb
(-)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.}}
- (see bring around, come around)
- (see bring around, come around)
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
* aboutuntil
English
Preposition
(English prepositions)Our banks are out of control, passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.}}
Chico Harlan
Japan pockets the subsidy …, passage=Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."}}
- He roused himself full blithe, and hastened them until .
Usage notes
It is typically assumed that circumstances have changed or could change at the referenced time. For instance, “All has gone well until now” implies that the current situation may not be so good.Synonyms
* 'til (nonstandard), till, up toAntonyms
* sinceConjunction
(English Conjunctions)Finland spreads word on schools, passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}
