about

1 on all sides or in every direction people standing about waiting for a salesclerk to assist them Synonyms around, roundRelated Words all over, everyplace, everywhere; abroad, afloat, hereabouts (or hereabout)

2 toward the opposite direction turned about and saw the dog following him Synonyms around, back, backward (or backwards), roundRelated Words behind, down, downward (or downwards), rearward (also rearwards); obversely, reversely; across, athwart, counter, counterclockwise, widdershins (also withershins)Near Antonyms clockwise, deasil

3 very close to but not completely about as many women as men signed up for the course in auto repair Synonyms almost, all but, borderline, fair [chiefly British], fairly, feckly [chiefly Scottish], more or less, most, much, near, nearly, next to, nigh, practically, somewhere, virtually, well-nighRelated Words appreciably, by and large, chiefly, largely, mainly, mostly; kind of, partially, partly, somewhatNear Antonyms absolutely, altogether, completely, entirely, fully, plain, plumb [chiefly dialect], quite, thoroughly; totally, utterly, well, wholly; barely, hardly, scarcely

4 close to but not exactly it's about a mile to the nearest gas station Synonyms approximately, around, like, more or less, much, near, plus or minus, roughly, say, someRelated Words generally, kind of, loosely; nearly, nominally, practically, virtually, well-nighNear Antonyms due, even, just, sharp, smack-dab, squarelyAntonyms exactly, precisely

5 in one place and another his garage was a dirty, cluttered place with various tools and engine parts just lying about Synonyms here and there, around, passimRelated Words all over, everyplace, everywhere, far and wide, high and low, right and left, throughout, ubiquitouslyNear Antonyms nowhere