| 1. | of; concerning; in regard to: instructions about the work; a book about the Civil War. |
| 2. | connected or associated with: There was an air of mystery about him. |
| 3. | near; close to: a man about my height; about six o'clock. |
| 4. | in or somewhere near: He is about the house. |
| 5. | on every side of; around: the railing about the excavation. |
| 6. | on or near (one's person): They lost all they had about them. |
| 7. | so as to be of use to: Keep your wits about you. |
| 8. | on the verge or point of (usually fol. by an infinitive): about to leave. |
| 9. | here or there; in or on: to wander about the old castle. |
| 10. | concerned with; engaged in doing: Tell me what it's about. Bring me the other book while you're about it. |
| 11. | near in time, number, degree, etc.; approximately: It's about five miles from here. |
| 12. | nearly; almost: Dinner is about ready. |
| 13. | nearby; not far off: He is somewhere about. |
| 14. | on every side; in every direction; around: Look about and see if you can find it. |
| 15. | halfway around; in the opposite direction: to turn a car about. |
| 16. | from one place to another; in this place or that: to move furniture about; important papers strewn about. |
| 17. | in rotation or succession; alternately: Turn about is fair play. |
| 18. | in circumference: a wheel two inches about. |
| 19. | Nautical.
|
| 20. | moving around; astir: He was up and about while the rest of us still slept. |
| 21. | in existence; current; prevalent: Chicken pox is about. |
about
In addition to the idioms beginning with about, 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).