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about
[ uh-bout ]
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.
- 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.
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
- about toabout to
- 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
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Word History and Origins
Origin of about1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of about1
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Idioms and Phrases
- 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)
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Example Sentences
If the oft-talked-about college “hook-up culture” could be embodied by a place, it would be Shooters.
Thus far, the most talked-about Green Friday hotspot is Denver dispensary the Grass Station.
A former talked-about, maybe-presidential candidate, Andrew Cuomo now hints at Hillary for president at his own re-election event.
Her book, for example, does not discuss her buzzed-about, scantily clad Maxim photo shoot from last year, and so neither do we.
So when it was revealed he would instead be showing in New York, it quickly became one of the most buzzed-about shows of the week.
These stories by a round-about way, gathering in circumstantial detail as they travelled, had reached his sister.
A few carbine and musket shots, from the knoll and house, soon brought them to a halt, and sent them to the right-about.
A commotion, a squeal, a thrashing-about near at hand caused both to turn suddenly.
I've seen the night when Brocken would be tame beside the pandemonium round-about.
I soon found he was a regular millstone round my neck—particularly when we were on the “walk-about.”
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[ak-suh-lot-l ]
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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.
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