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definitions

about

[uh-bout]
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preposition

adverb

adjective

moving around; astir: He was up and about while the rest of us still slept.
in existence; current; prevalent: Chicken pox is about.

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RELATED WORDS

around, almost, nearly, roughly, nearby, through, approximately, back, backward, round, anyhow, practically, apropos, regarding, touching, adjacent, beside, surrounding, throughout

Origin of about

before 900; Middle English aboute(n), Old English abūtan, onbūtan on the outside of (a- a-1 + būtan outside (see but1, but2), equivalent to b(e) by1 + ūtan), cognate with Gothic utana, Old Norse, Old Saxon ūtan, Old Frisian ūta, Old High German ūzan(a) outside; see out; cf. above, abaft for formation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for about

about

preposition

relating to; concerning; on the subject of
near or close to (in space or time)
carried onI haven't any money about me
on every side of; all the way around
active in or engaged inshe is about her business
about to
  1. on the point of; intending toshe was about to jump
  2. (with a negative)determined not tonobody is about to miss it

adverb

approximately; near in number, time, degree, etcabout 50 years old
nearby
here and there; from place to place; in no particular directionwalk about to keep warm
all around; on every side
in or to the opposite directionhe turned about and came back
in rotation or revolutionturn and turn about
used in informal phrases to indicate understatementI've had just about enough of your insults; it's about time you stopped
archaic in circumference; around

adjective

(predicative) active; astir after sleepup and about
(predicative) in existence, current, or in circulationthere aren't many about nowadays

Word Origin for about

Old English abūtan, onbūtan on the outside of, around, from on + būtan outside
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for about
adv.

Old English abutan, earlier onbutan "on the outside of," from on (see on) + be "by" (see by) + utan "outside," from ut (see out (adv.)). By 13c. it had forced out Old English ymbe, ymbutan for meaning "in the neighborhood of." Abouts, with adverbial genitive, still found in hereabouts, etc., probably is a northern dialectal form. About face as a military command (short for right about face) is first attested 1861, American English.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with about

about

In addition to the idioms beginning with about

  • about time
  • about to

also see:

  • at about
  • beat about the bush
  • bring about
  • cast about
  • come about
  • do an about-face
  • get about
  • go about (one's business)
  • how about (that)
  • just about
  • knock about
  • lay about
  • man about town
  • nose about (around)
  • no two ways about it
  • order someone about
  • out and about
  • see about
  • send someone about someone's business
  • set about
  • that's about the size of it
  • up and about
  • what about someone (something)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.