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Meaning of about in English

about

preposition

uk

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/əˈbaʊt/ us

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/əˈbaʊt/

about preposition (CONNECTED WITH)

A1

on the subject of, or connected with:

What's that book about?

a film about the Spanish Civil War

We were talking/laughing about Sophie.

He's always (going) on about what a great job he's got.

I'm worried about David.

I really don't know what all the fuss is about.

I wish you'd do something about (= take action to solve the problem of) your bedroom - it's a real mess.

UK informal Could you make me a coffee too while you're about it (= while you are making one for yourself)?

What didn't you like about the play?

There's something about her attitude that worries me.

There's something special about him (= in his character).

"Is that your car?" "Yes, what about it?" (= Why are you asking me?)

More examples

He is always talking about how clever his children are.
I wish you'd stop making jokes about my friends.
Lots of people have complained about the noise.
The film was about creatures from outer space.
I was very nervous about driving again after the accident.
Stop jumping about, Billy, and just stand still for a moment!

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Regarding and concerning

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about preposition (NO ORDER)

mainly UK

(US usually around)

positioned around a place, often without a clear purpose or order:

Their belongings were flung about the room.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

General location and orientation

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about preposition (POSITION)

UK formal

in a particular place:

Do you have such a thing as a pen about you/your person? (= Do you have a pen?)

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

General location and orientation

See more results »

Grammar

About is a preposition or an adverb. …

About as a preposition

The most common meaning of about as a preposition is ‘on the subject of’ or ‘connected with’: …

About as an adverb

We use about as an adverb when we talk about time, number and quantity. About makes the time, number or quantity less specific and more approximate: …

We use the modal expression be about to as an adjective in the modal expression be about to to refer to something that will happen very soon in the future: …

Idiom

how/what about...?

about

adverb

uk

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/əˈbaʊt/ us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/əˈbaʊt/

about adverb (APPROXIMATELY)

A1

a little more or less than the stated number or amount:

about six feet tall

about two months ago

"What time are you leaving work today?" "About five."

More examples

The town is about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Fry the onion and garlic for about two minutes.
The average temperature worldwide has risen by about one degree Fahrenheit in the past 100 years.
"We'll be at your house at about nine o'clock, okay?"
We sent out the wedding invitations about three weeks ago.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Approximate

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about adverb (ALMOST)

We're about ready to leave.

Well, I think that's about it for now (= we have almost finished what we are doing for the present).

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Almost

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about adverb (ALL DIRECTIONS)

B2 mainly UK

(US usually around)

in many different directions:

They heard someone moving about outside.

I've been running about all morning trying to find you.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

General location and orientation

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about adverb (NO ORDER)

B2 mainly UK

(US usually around)

positioned around a place, often without a clear purpose or order:

She always leaves her clothes lying about on the floor.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

General location and orientation

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about adverb (PLACE)

mainly UK

(US usually around)

in or near a place:

Is John about (= somewhere near)?

There's a lot of flu about (= many people have it) at the moment.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

General location and orientation

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Closeness in distance and time

Grammar

About is a preposition or an adverb. …

About as a preposition

The most common meaning of about as a preposition is ‘on the subject of’ or ‘connected with’: …

About as an adverb

We use about as an adverb when we talk about time, number and quantity. About makes the time, number or quantity less specific and more approximate: …

We use the modal expression be about to as an adjective in the modal expression be about to to refer to something that will happen very soon in the future: …

about

adjective

uk

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/əˈbaʊt/ us

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/əˈbaʊt/

about adjective (INTENDING)

be about to do sth

B1

to be going to do something very soon:

I was about to leave when Mark arrived.

She looked as if she was about to cry.

More examples

He sensed that something was about to happen.
I was just about to borrow some money from Dad when finally the cheque arrived.
She looked as though she was about to cry.
I was about to phone Joe at work when he walked into the house
The train's about to leave. Hurry up!

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

About to happen

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Grammar

We use the modal expression be about to as an adjective in the modal expression be about to to refer to something that will happen very soon in the future: …

We use be about to + base form of the verb to refer to things that we expect to happen very soon. We often use it with just, for emphasis: …

(Definition of about from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

about | American Dictionary

about

preposition

us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/əˈbɑʊt/

about preposition (CONNECTED WITH)

on the subject of; connected with:

"What’s that book about?" "It’s about the Civil War."

I don’t know what all the fuss is about.

There’s something about her attitude that worries me.

Idiom

(it's) about time

about

adverb [ not gradable ]

us

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/əˈbɑʊt/

about adverb [not gradable] (APPROXIMATELY)

a little more or less than a specific number; approximately:

He’s about six feet tall.

It happened about two months ago.

I’ve had just about enough of your complaining (= I do not want to hear any more).

about

adjective [ + to infinitive; not gradable ]

us

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/əˈbɑʊt/

about adjective [+ to infinitive; not gradable] (INTENDING)

almost ready to do something, or intending to do something soon:

He looked as if he was about to burst into tears.

I’m not about to apologize to him.

about

preposition, adjective, adverb [ not gradable ]

us

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/əˈbɑʊt/

(also around)

about preposition, adjective, adverb [not gradable] (IN THIS PLACE)

positioned or moving in or near a place:

Reporters stood about, waiting for more news.

(Definition of about from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of about

about

Every junction is protected either by lights or round abouts.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

If one concentrates on any particular point in a man's career one has to look at the swings as well as the round-abouts.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

These examples are from the Cambridge English Corpus and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

More examples Fewer examples

In these days the word "maintenance" covers quite a lot: apparently you can double the size of your roads, have dual-carriageways, round abouts and so forth.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

I have seen a number of other road safety improvement schemes which have deployed mini-round-abouts and in the initial stages they have not always been easy to accept.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

However, the key thing to note about pre-electoral coalitions is that they can affect the probability that a party gets to enter government.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We'll lose about a fifth of our farmers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The size of this effect is about the same as that of decentralization.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Do you expect the national economy to get better, get worse, or stay about the same?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We summarize our main findings in conclusion and discuss their contribution to the debate about the influence of issue preferences on the voter's decision.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Nonetheless, a few words about our methods are in order.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

On one hand, partisanship is an enduring attribute, among the most central and most stable beliefs people hold about politics.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Uncertainty about campaign finance is added to all the other uncertainties in his or her world.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The changes made in conference were, however, more about style than substance.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Retailers also had to confront changing beliefs about the purpose of bankruptcy law.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The main result about model families is the following.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of about

Translations of about

in Chinese (Traditional)

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in Arabic

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in Italian

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in Spanish

和…有關, 在…方面, 有關，關於，涉及…

～について, ～に関して, ～のあちこちを（に、へ）…

hakkında, ile ilgili, bir yerde ya da orada rastgele bulunma…

environ, presque, dans les parages…

sobre, per, aproximadament…

عَنْ, حَوْل, حَوَالي…

o, kolem, okolo…

om, cirka, omtrent…

tentang, mengenai, kira-kira…

เกี่ยวกับ, ประมาณ, ทั่ว ๆ…

về chủ đề, khoảng, xung quanh…

o, po…

mengenai, kira-kira, sekeliling…

über, ungefähr, herum…

rundt, omkring, ca.…

(특정한 주제)-에 관하여, 이리저리, 대략…

sobre, de, por…

和…有关, 在…方面, 有关，关于，涉及…

di, su, su di…

о, об, по…

sobre, por, aproximadamente…

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abound

abound in/with sth

abounded

abounding

about

about-face

about-turn

above

above all idiom

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