a‧bout /əˈbaʊt/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-bout] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–preposition
| 1. |
of; concerning; in regard to: instructions about the work; a book about the Civil War. |
| 2. |
connected or associated with: There was an air of mystery about him. |
| 3. |
near; close to: a man about my height; about six o’clock. |
| 4. |
in or somewhere near: He is about the house. |
| 5. |
on every side of; around: the railing about the excavation. |
| 6. |
on or near (one’s person): They lost all they had about them. |
| 7. |
so as to be of use to: Keep your wits about you. |
| 8. |
on the verge or point of (usually fol. by an infinitive): about to leave. |
| 9. |
here or there; in or on: to wander about the old castle. |
| 10. |
concerned with; engaged in doing: Tell me what it’s about. Bring me the other book while you’re about it. |
–adverb
| 11. |
near in time, number, degree, etc.; approximately: It’s about five miles from here. |
| 12. |
nearly; almost: Dinner is about ready. |
| 13. |
nearby; not far off: He is somewhere about. |
| 14. |
on every side; in every direction; around: Look about and see if you can find it. |
| 15. |
halfway around; in the opposite direction: to turn a car about. |
| 16. |
from one place to another; in this place or that: to move furniture about; important papers strewn about. |
| 17. |
in rotation or succession; alternately: Turn about is fair play. |
| 18. |
in circumference: a wheel two inches about. |
–adjective
| 20. |
moving around; astir: He was up and about while the rest of us still slept. |
| 21. |
in existence; current; prevalent: Chicken pox is about. |
[Origin:
bef. 900; ME
aboute(
n), OE
abūtan, onbūtan on the outside of (
a- a-1 +
būtan outside (see
but1,
but2), equiv. to
b(
e)
by +
ūtan), c. Goth
utana, ON, OS
ūtan, OFris
ūta, OHG
ūzan(
a) outside; see
out; cf.
above,
abaft for formation]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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