about

adverb

\ ə-ˈbau̇t

Definition of about

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : 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

3a : 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

about

preposition

Definition of about (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : in a circle around : on every side of : around People gathered about him.

2a : 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

4a : 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.

about

adjective

Definition of about (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : moving from place to place specifically : being out of bed is up and about by 7 a.m.

2 : around sense 2 There is a scarcity of jobs about.

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about about

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Examples of about in a Sentence

Adverb

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.

Preposition

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Once your eggs are just about set, take them off the heat. — Audrey Bruno, SELF, "6 Tips to Make Perfect Scrambled Eggs," 3 May 2019 Truman would have freed up $23.4 billion over 30 years, or about enough to build twelve new Burke-class destroyers. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Why the Navy Won’t Retire the USS Truman Early," 1 May 2019 One product the actress recently added to her self-care arsenal and can't stop raving about is Olay's Ribbons Body Wash. — Kaleigh Fasanella, Allure, "Sarah Hyland Talks Hair Loss, Regrowth, and Her Newfound Curls," 24 Apr. 2019 And if you're not convinced of this yet, Harry Nuriev's striking pendant light is about to prove that literally anything can be transformed into something beautiful and useful. — Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, "You Won't Believe What This Chic Pendant Light Is Made Out Of," 18 Apr. 2019 Still, this competition isn't really about who won and who lost. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "An AI Beat the Top Humans at a Modern Video Game Thanks to the Power of Teamwork," 16 Apr. 2019 Another drugstore pick Witherspoon raves about: Revlon's Extra Curl Eyelash Curler. — Marci Robin, Allure, "Reese Witherspoon’s Favorite Drugstore Beauty Products Include a $5 Eyelash Curler and $10 Cleanser," 5 Apr. 2019 The Peppermint star opened up about Violet's newfound interest in beauty, explaining that she's been having a ton of fun experimenting with and exploring the whole world of makeup. — Kaleigh Fasanella, Allure, "Jennifer Garner Shares How She Feels About Her 13-Year-Old Daughter Wearing Makeup," 27 Mar. 2019 But beyond the gorgeous bottles, high-end brands are also taking a spare-no-expense approach to formulating what goes into them to deliver results that are truly worth posting about. — Glamour, "Beauty Awards: The 17 Best Skin Care Products of 2019," 25 Mar. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The meaning of the quote — which comes from an interview Lee once gave about heroism — is self-explanatory. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: the movie’s 2 post-credits scenes, explained," 15 Dec. 2018 What happens: The costumed characters learn about nature from actual birds and cast members in stage show set in India. — Dewayne Bevil, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Disney World: A look at Pixar in the parks," 25 June 2018 American Idol judge Luke Bryan recently tweeted about contestant Nick Townsend, who was eliminated on Sunday night's episode. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'American Idol' Fans Are Going After Luke Bryan After Judges' "HORRIBLE Decision" in Top 20 Episode," 1 Apr. 2019 Smith gave direction to the district's then-chief business operations officer, Louis Hartwell, the about purchase orders involving PGPC and quotes for services. — Yihyun Jeong, azcentral, "Scottsdale schools' ex-CFO indicted on 11 felony charges of fraud, conflicts of interest," 14 May 2018 Kate Middleton and Prince William are visiting Blackpool today to take a about investment and regeneration projects in the seaside resort town. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Kate Middleton Braves the Rain in an Olive Sportsmax Coat and Manu Atelier Clutch," 6 Mar. 2019 The line of bulbs, which are the first to have Made by Google certification built into them, were first introduced this fall, but the offerings are about to triple in number, as Tech Crunch reports. — Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, "General Electric Is Making Voice-Controlled "Smart" Light Bulbs," 9 Jan. 2019 The team has no answers yet, but the additional discovery points to just how little scientists know about shark gestation. — Jill Kiedaisch, Popular Mechanics, "Some Unborn Sharks Swim from Uterus to Uterus Inside Their Mom," 7 Jan. 2019 Missing their families, not knowing how to answer when people ask about holiday plans, nostalgia for happier times, and having nowhere to go for the holidays are just some of the reasons cited for this. — Ashley Edwards Walker, Good Housekeeping, "Modern Estrangement: What Does It Mean to Be Estranged, Anyway?," 21 Dec. 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.