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.
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
Words nearby about
aboudikro, abought, Aboukir Bay, aboulia, abound, about, about face, about ship, about time, about to, about turn
around, almost, nearly, roughly, nearby, through, approximately, back, backward, round, any which way, anyhow, here and there, practically, in general, apropos, regarding, touching, in relation to, in respect to