about
Americanpreposition
-
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.
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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, on, or over.
to wander about the old castle;
to look about the auditorium at the audience.
-
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.
preposition
-
relating to; concerning; on the subject of
-
near or close to (in space or time)
-
carried on
I haven't any money about me
-
on every side of; all the way around
-
active in or engaged in
she is about her business
-
-
on the point of; intending to
she was about to jump
-
(with a negative) determined not to
nobody is about to miss it
-
adverb
-
approximately; near in number, time, degree, etc
about 50 years old
-
nearby
-
here and there; from place to place; in no particular direction
walk about to keep warm
-
all around; on every side
-
in or to the opposite direction
he turned about and came back
-
in rotation or revolution
turn and turn about
-
used in informal phrases to indicate understatement
I've had just about enough of your insults
it's about time you stopped
-
archaic in circumference; around
adjective
-
(predicative) active; astir after sleep
up and about
-
(predicative) in existence, current, or in circulation
there aren't many about nowadays
Etymology
Origin of about
First recorded before 900; Middle English aboute(n), Old English abūtan, onbūtan “on the outside of,” equivalent to a- 1 ( def. ) + but 1 ( def. ); cognate with Gothic utana, Old Norse, Old Saxon ūtan, Old Frisian ūta, Old High German ūzan(a) “outside”; see out ( def. )
Explanation
The adverb about, when used with a quantity, means approximately or roughly. If a teenager wants to have a couple of friends over, his mom might ask about how many "a couple" is — in his mind it may be about 50. The adverb about can also be used for things that are almost, or just on the verge of happening. If you're about to graduate from high school, you're just finishing up your senior year. About also means around or on all sides. If you don't like animals, going to the petting zoo is a bad idea. The animals will be all about you.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jonathan can be telling you a funny story about something that happened in the 1970s, but when they call “Action,” he suddenly drops himself into the place of a man who’s slowly losing his mind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
A digital bill of rights would be a major part of that by boosting privacy and protecting the level of data that corporations can siphon up about ordinary people.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
“We’re very high on quality, and we’re high on authenticity. Music was always the main goal, and that’s why we chose Daptone; we’re on the same page about that, ‘cause music is a vibration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
“His prescription contact lenses had expired,” Sidhar reported, “and he told his chain of command that he couldn’t even see what he was doing, and he was worried about causing accidents.”
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
We know one other thing about Phineas in Chile.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
