View synonyms for about

about

[uh-bout]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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, 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.
1. onto a new tack.
2. 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.

about

/ əˈbaʊt /

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
1. on the point of; intending to
  she was about to jump
2. (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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of about¹

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”; out ( def. )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of about¹

Old English abūtan, onbūtan on the outside of, around, from _on + būtan outside

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Idioms and Phrases

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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.

In 2020 the Japanese Aerospace eXploration Agency sent out Hayabusa2 to learn more about the smallest of asteroids flying around in our Solar System and bring back some samples.

Related Words

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