about

[ uh-bout ]

/ əˈbaʊt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR about ON THESAURUS.COM

preposition

of; concerning; in regard to: instructions about the work; a book about the Civil War.

connected or associated with: There was an air of mystery about him.

near; close to: a man about my height; about six o'clock.

in or somewhere near: He is about the house.

on every side of; around: the railing about the excavation.

on or near (one's person): They lost all they had about them.

so as to be of use to: Keep your wits about you.

on the verge or point of (usually followed by an infinitive): about to leave.

here or there; in or on: to wander about the old castle.

concerned with; engaged in doing: Tell me what it's about. Bring me the other book while you're about it.

adverb

near in time, number, degree, etc.; approximately: It's about five miles from here.

nearly; almost: Dinner is about ready.

nearby; not far off: He is somewhere about.

on every side; in every direction; around: Look about and see if you can find it.

halfway around; in the opposite direction: to turn a car about.

from one place to another; in this place or that: to move furniture about; important papers strewn about.

in rotation or succession; alternately: Turn about is fair play.

in circumference: a wheel two inches about.

Nautical.

onto a new tack.
onto a new course.

adjective

moving around; astir: He was up and about while the rest of us still slept.

in existence; current; prevalent: Chicken pox is about.

Words nearby about

abought, aboukir, aboukir bay, aboulia, abound, about, about face, about ship, about time, about to, about turn

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. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for about

about

/ (əˈbaʊt) /

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

on the point of; intending toshe was about to jump
(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

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)

about

preposition

adverb

adjective

Words related to about

Words nearby about

Origin of about

British Dictionary definitions for about

preposition

adverb

adjective

Word Origin for about

Idioms and Phrases with about