1 about
Pronounced:
/əˈbaʊt/
Function:
adverbMeaning:
1 a : almost or nearly ▪ We're about ready to go. ▪ I'm about starved. ▪ Are you about finished? ▪ 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. ▪ “Is there anything else to do?” “No, that's about it/all.” [=that's it/all; there is nothing else to do] b —used to indicate that a number, amount, time, etc., is not exact or certain ▪ The repair should cost about [=approximately, roughly] $200. ▪ We should leave in about 10 minutes. ▪ We got home at about 8 o'clock. = (US) We got home around about 8 o'clock. = (Brit) We got home round about 8 o'clock. [=it was approximately 8 o'clock when we got home]
2 : very close to doing something —followed by to + verb ▪ He is about to leave. [=he will be leaving very soon] ▪ We're about to join our friends for dinner. ▪ Their daughter is about to graduate from college. —often used with not to stress that someone will not do something ▪ I'm not about to quit. [=I am not going to quit; I will not quit]
3 chiefly Brit a : in many different directions ▪ They wandered about [=around] for several hours. b : in many different places ▪ People were standing about [=around], talking quietly in small groups. ▪ His tools were scattered about [=around] carelessly. c : in or near a particular area or place ▪ There was no one about. [=there was no one around; there was no one there]
4 : in the opposite direction ▪ turn about [=(more commonly) around] ▪ The captain ordered us to bring the ship about.
2 : very close to doing something —followed by to + verb ▪ He is about to leave. [=he will be leaving very soon] ▪ We're about to join our friends for dinner. ▪ Their daughter is about to graduate from college. —often used with not to stress that someone will not do something ▪ I'm not about to quit. [=I am not going to quit; I will not quit]
3 chiefly Brit a : in many different directions ▪ They wandered about [=around] for several hours. b : in many different places ▪ People were standing about [=around], talking quietly in small groups. ▪ His tools were scattered about [=around] carelessly. c : in or near a particular area or place ▪ There was no one about. [=there was no one around; there was no one there]
4 : in the opposite direction ▪ turn about [=(more commonly) around] ▪ The captain ordered us to bring the ship about.