rodear
verb
1. to surround, encircle
put around
Common combinations
- rodear una casa — to surround a house
- rodear un edificio — to surround a building
- rodear a alguien — to gather around someone
- Un muro rodea la casa.A wall surrounds the house.
- La policía rodeó el edificio.The police surrounded the building.
- Los niños rodearon a su abuelo.The children gathered around their grandfather.
2. to go around, skirt
move around something
Common combinations
- rodear un lago — to go around a lake
- rodear una montaña — to go around a mountain
- rodear el centro — to go around the city center
- El sendero rodea el lago.The path goes around the lake.
- Para llegar al pueblo, rodeamos la montaña.We went around the mountain to reach the village.
- El conductor rodeó el centro para evitar el tráfico.The driver went around the city center to avoid traffic.
3. to evade, avoid addressing directly
avoid dealing with a subject directly
Common combinations
- rodear una pregunta — to evade a question
- rodear un tema — to skirt a subject
- rodear un problema — to skirt a problem
- El político rodeó la pregunta y no respondió.The politician evaded the question and did not answer.
- No rodees el tema; habla claro.Don't beat around the subject; speak plainly.
- La respuesta rodeó el problema sin resolverlo.The answer skirted the problem without solving it.
Same root
rodeorodearse