about

adverb \ ə-ˈbau̇t \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Examples: about in a Sentence

Definition of about

1 a : reasonably close to

about a year ago

b : almost

about starved

just about finished

c : on the verge of —usually used with be and a following infinitive

is about to join the army

—used with a negative to express intention or determination

not about to quit

2 : on all sides : around

looked about for a place to park

3 a : in rotation

They go about in circles.

b : around the outside

4 : in many different directions : here and there

walked about for hours

5 : in the vicinity : near

He spoke to the people standing about.

6 : in the opposite direction

face about

the other way about

See about defined for English-language learners

See about defined for kids

Examples of about in a Sentence

We're about ready to go.
This one is about as bad as that one.
That's about all I know at this point.
It's about time to go.
That's about all the time we have.
We tried just about everything we could think of.

Recent Examples of about from the Web

The pair texted multiple times a day about many things including work matters, promotions and news coverage of all kinds of topics.

— jeremy herb, CNN, "From Reddit to Trump: How the President latched onto a conspiracy theory," 6 June 2018
December 2017 The couple waste no time getting out and about with their relationship.

— alison caporimo, Seventeen, "Here's a Complete Timeline of Scott Disick and Sofia Richie's Relationship," 5 June 2018
After setting the bar for what counts as a cancer signal high enough to keep false positives below 2 percent, the three assays picked up lung cancer about equally well.

— sharon begley, STAT, "Grail’s cancer blood test shows ‘proof of principle,’ but challenges remain," 2 June 2018
This is about, in a sense, shedding dead weight in their mind.

— david jesse, Detroit Free Press, "Falling credit hours at state universities lead to uncertain futures," 30 May 2018
Next up, bask in the mirthful, hippie-hop sounds of Superorganism (reviewed here in the March 26 issue) with eight members hailing from all over the globe and singing about, among other things, prawns.

— staff, The Christian Science Monitor, "Top Picks: 'The Insult' on DVD and Blu-ray, the Netflix documentary 'Mercury 13,' and more top picks," 25 May 2018
As Benjamin, the only white male in the office, is about to ascend, his coworkers take turns airing grievances, offering him congratulations, sneaking in final furtive trysts, and wondering aloud about the injustices of their respective fates.

— dmitry samarov, Chicago Reader, "Refrigerator is a chilling look into the near future," 25 May 2018
Passive investors are about to get more involved in Chinese stocks thanks to MSCI’s decision to include several of them in its key indexes.

— jacky wong, WSJ, "The Sea of Leverage in Chinese Markets," 23 May 2018
Scientists normally conduct experiments, gather and analyze data, write about and argue conclusions to a point of consensus, often through multiple drafts and usually out of public view.

— adam aton, Scientific American, "Government Sea Level Rise Report Released After Charges of Censorship," 21 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'about.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of about

Middle English abuten, aboute, going back to Old English abūtan, abūton, from a- ¹a- + būtan "outside, without" — more at ¹but

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

about Synonyms

Phrases

after a fashion, somewhere about, somewhere around;

about

preposition

Definition of about

1 : in a circle around : on every side of : around

People gathered about him.

2 a : in the immediate neighborhood of : near

Fish are abundant about the reefs.

b : on or near the person of

had a pleasing fragrance about her

c : in the makeup of

a mature wisdom about him

d : at the command of

has his wits about him

3 : engaged in

… act as if they know what they're about …
—T. S. Matthews

4 a : with regard to : concerning

spoke about his past

b : concerned with

c : fundamentally concerned with or directed toward

… poker is about money.
—David Mamet

5 : over or in different parts of

He traveled about the country.

See about defined for English-language learners

Examples of about in a Sentence

a poignant story about a young man who goes off to war
about the hedge there was a picket fence

Recent Examples of about from the Web

At its heart, Mr Trump’s plan is based on a hunch about sanctions.

— The Economist, "Scrapping the Iran deal won’t do anyone any good," 12 May 2018
Chapman said, though the sheriff had concerns about events at the liquor store.

— joshua sharpe, ajc, "Ex-deputy charged with shooting teen at DeKalb liquor store," 11 May 2018
There is a whole mess of statistics that a person could drum up about the grip that domestic violence has on the United States.

— jerel ezell, The Root, "Speaking Out Against Domestic Violence on Black Women Is No Longer Taboo, but Doing Something About It Is," 10 May 2018
Gomez said two White Houses sources confirmed Sadler's comments about McCain.

— william cummings, USA TODAY, "Report: White House official mocked Sen. John McCain: 'He's dying anyway'," 10 May 2018
Despite this, there's still no consensus about the cause of ME, although a viral origin has been suspected.

— megan doherty, Chicago Reader, "ME myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome CFS Millions Missing Depaul University CDC," 10 May 2018
Even at age 10, Samantha Smith already knew important things about the world.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The Surprising Story of the American Girl Who Broke Through the Iron Curtain," 10 May 2018
James Queally James Queally writes about crime and policing in Southern California.

— james queally, latimes.com, "Woman who allegedly stole car with 11-month-old inside is arrested on kidnapping, theft charges," 10 May 2018
The family sued Chrysler and Michelin, the tire maker, and ultimately agreed to a confidential settlement — after ensuring the agreement allows them to speak freely about the crash.

— justin price, The Courier-Journal, "Child's death led family in a crusade for 15-passenger van safety," 10 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of about

Middle English, going back to Old English abūtan, derivative of abūtan ¹about

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

about Synonyms

Synonyms

apropos, apropos of, as far as, as for, as regards (also as respects), as to, concerning, of, on, regarding, respecting, touching, toward (or towards);

Related Words

over;

Phrases

in regard to, in respect to, in view of, with regard to, with respect to;

about

adjective

Definition of about

1 : moving from place to place; specifically : being out of bed

is up and about by 7 a.m.

2 : around 2

There is a scarcity of jobs about.

See about defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of about from the Web

Of course, the Cannes experience isn’t all about fashion.

— janelle okwodu, Vogue, "Laura Harrier’s First Trip to Cannes Was a Fashion Fantasy," 18 May 2018
There’s some anger on the record, political anger and cultural criticism, and then there’s also songs that are about love and kind of the catharsis that comes from joy and happiness.

— eli enis, Billboard, "Parquet Courts on Resisting Nihilism & Why Working With Kids Was 'Pretty Scary'," 16 May 2018
But the city was about to begin a remarkable run of growth.

— jim morrill, charlotteobserver, "Loving 'the can-do spirit' of Charlotte, M.S. Van Hecke chronicled the city's growth | Charlotte Observer," 7 May 2018
Dakota Pitts, the Huskies freshman pitcher, struck out the next hitter, but Alexis Amos was about to change the game.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "Aberdeen edges Patterson Mill, 1-0, to stay alive in softball race," 2 May 2018
The costs are about equally split between delivering lake water to Waukesha, at $140 million, and sending an equal volume back to the lake, at $146 million.

— don behm, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Waukesha alerts hundreds of property owners in three communities to field work along route of lake diversion pipeline," 23 Apr. 2018
Bryant's release was about production and declining skills, not saving money There has been much talk about Bryant's departure being rooted in his $12.5 million salary and $16.5 million cap hit for 2017.

— clarence e. hill jr., star-telegram, "Earl Thomas, draft and other possible Cowboys spinoffs from Dez Bryant release | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 16 Apr. 2018
When Kara Craig’s father was about to die last year, Craig called a death doula.

— dana oland, idahostatesman, "When a loved one needs hospice, you’ll have new options in Idaho. Like a death doula. | Idaho Statesman," 21 Mar. 2018
Just as a search of the woods around the family’s home was about to begin, a report came in that someone had spotted a child driving a Saturn sedan nearby, and a Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office unit was dispatched to the location.

— Fox News, "10-year-old runaway stole car and rammed a police cruiser that was trying to stop him," 22 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of about

Middle English, derivative of about ¹about

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1745

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

ABOUT Defined for Kids

about

adverb \ ə-ˈbau̇t \

Definition of about for Students

1 : almost, nearly

about an hour ago

2 : on all sides : around

Bees were swarming about.

3 : in the opposite direction

The ship came about.

4 : on the verge of

I was about to call you.

about

preposition

Definition of about for Students

1 : having to do with

The story is about dogs.

2 : on every side of : around

There are trees about the house.

3 : over or in different parts of

He traveled about the country.

4 : near or not far from in time

about the middle of the month

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See words that rhyme with about Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for about Spanish Central: Translation of about Nglish: Translation of about for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of about for Arabic speakers

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