rounded up

[keannu]

"Round up" seems to have two meanings, one of which is "to gather" and the other "make something round(circular)". So does the underlined mean the latter?

do100
ex)...One incredible hunting strategy is used by the dolphins. They team up to collect the sardines into a round group, called a "bait ball.". Once the sardines are rounded up, it is difficult for the dolphins swimming around to snatch them...

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

NOT A TEACHER

round [FONT=&quot] somebody/something ↔ up [/FONT][FONT=&quot] phrasal verb [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2 [/FONT]to find and gather together a group of people, animals, or things [FONT=&quot]: [/FONT]See if you can round up a few friends to help you!
His dog Nell started to round up the sheep.


Source: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.

 

[keannu]

Can you tell me there's nothing like "make something a circular form" in its meaning?

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

No, I don't think so.

They team up to collect the sardines into a round group, called a "bait ball."

Here they use "collect," so I'd say that, 'Once the sardines are rounded up...' refers back to "collect."

This is what makes the most sense to me.

 

[emsr2d2]

Can you tell me there's nothing like "make something a circular form" in its meaning?

I wouldn't use "to round up" or any other phrasal verb to mean "to make something into a circular form". However, I would use "to round" or "to roll into a ball".

When making doughnuts, you make dough and then you "round it into medium-sized balls".