About

Alternative forms

 * abowt; a.,  ab.,*  abt.

Etymology
Preposition and adverb from, , from , , from , from.

Adjective from.

Preposition

 * 1) In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.
 * The snake was coiled about his ankle.
 * 1) * c.1604–1605,, All's Well That Ends Well
 * So look about you; know you any here?
 * 1) * 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Proverbs, iii, 3
 * Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
 * 1) Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.
 * Rubbish was strewn about the place.
 * The children were running about the room.
 * He was well known about town.
 * 1) * 1849,, The history of England from the accession of James the Second
 * He had been known, during several years, as a small poet; and some of the most savage lampoons which were handed about the coffeehouses were imputed to him.
 * 1)  See about to.
 * 2)  On the point or verge of.
 * 3) * 1866, A treatise on the law of suits by attachment in the United States, by Charles Daniel Drake, page 80
 * [It] was held, that the latter requirement was fulfilled by an affidavit declaring that "the defendant was about leaving the State permanently."
 * 1) Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of; to affect.
 * 2) * 1671, 
 * I already have made way / To some Philistian lords, with whom to treat / About thy ransom.
 * 1) * 1860,, 
 * "I'll tell you what, Fanny: she must have her way about Sarah Thompson. You can see her to-morrow and tell her so."
 * 1) * 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
 * Well, let’s not talk about yesterday.
 * 1) Concerned with; engaged in; intent on.
 * to be about one's business
 * 1) * 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Luke, ii, 49
 * And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
 * 1) * 2013 March 14, , season 5, episode 16, Bailout:
 * RON: And I'll have the number 8.
 * WAITER: That's a party platter, it serves 12 people.
 * RON: I know what I'm about, son.
 * 1) Within or in the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place.
 * I can't find my reading glasses, but they must be somewhere about the house.
 * John's in the garden, probably somewhere about the woodshed.
 * 1) On one's person; nearby the person.
 * I had no weapon about me but a stick.
 * 1) * 1837, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Ernest Maltravers: Volume 1
 * At this assurance the traveller rose, and approached Alice softly. He drew away her hands from her face, when she said gently, "Have you much money about you?"
 * "Oh the mercenary baggage!" said the traveller to himself; and then replied aloud "Why, pretty one? Do you sell your kisses so high, then?"
 * 1)  In or near, as in mental faculties or  in the possession of; under the control of; at one's command; in one's makeup.
 * 1) Within or in the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place.
 * I can't find my reading glasses, but they must be somewhere about the house.
 * John's in the garden, probably somewhere about the woodshed.
 * 1) On one's person; nearby the person.
 * I had no weapon about me but a stick.
 * 1) * 1837, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Ernest Maltravers: Volume 1
 * At this assurance the traveller rose, and approached Alice softly. He drew away her hands from her face, when she said gently, "Have you much money about you?"
 * "Oh the mercenary baggage!" said the traveller to himself; and then replied aloud "Why, pretty one? Do you sell your kisses so high, then?"
 * 1)  In or near, as in mental faculties or  in the possession of; under the control of; at one's command; in one's makeup.

Usage notes

 * In modern English, always followed by an infinitive that begins with to ("I am about to bathe"); see about to. In the past, it was possible to instead follow the about with the present participle ("I am about swimming"), but this format is no longer used or widely understood.
 * Used as a function word to indicate what is dealt with as the object of thought, feeling, or action.

Translations

 * Arabic:
 * Egyptian Arabic: حولين
 * Armenian:
 * Azerbaijani:, ətrafında
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, ,
 * Czech: ,
 * Danish:, , rundt om
 * Dutch:, , ,
 * Esperanto:
 * Finnish:
 * French:
 * Georgian: გარშემო
 * German: um... (herum)
 * Greek: γύρω από
 * Ancient: περί (+ acc.), ἀμφί (+ dat.)
 * Hebrew:
 * Indonesian: ,
 * Irish: timpeall, um
 * Italian:
 * Japanese:, , ,
 * Kurdish:
 * Northern Kurdish:
 * Kyrgyz:, ,


 * Latvian: apkārt
 * Macedonian: околу
 * Maltese: madwar
 * Mòcheno: um
 * Northern Sami: birra
 * Norwegian: ,
 * Old English: ymb
 * Persian:
 * Polish:, ,
 * Portuguese: ao redor de, nas redondezas de
 * Romanian: în jurul + genitive
 * Russian:, ,
 * Scots: aboot
 * Scottish Gaelic: mun cuairt, mu chuairt
 * Serbo-Croatian:
 * Cyrillic: о̏ко
 * Roman:
 * Slovak: okolo
 * Slovene: okoli, okrog
 * Sorbian:
 * Lower Sorbian: wokoło
 * Spanish: de,
 * Swedish:, ,
 * Turkish:
 * Ukrainian: навкруги
 * Zulu: nga- + locative


 * Azerbaijani: ətrafında
 * Danish:, rundt om
 * Dutch:
 * Esperanto:, ĉirkaŭe en,
 * Finnish:, ; paikkeilla, vaiheilla
 * French: ,
 * German:
 * Hebrew: ,
 * Kurdish:
 * Northern Kurdish:
 * Latvian:, apkārt
 * Macedonian: наоколу


 * Norwegian:
 * Polish:
 * Portuguese:
 * Russian:
 * Scottish Gaelic: mun cuairt, mu chuairt
 * Slovak: okolo
 * Spanish: encima de
 * Swedish:, runt om
 * Turkish:
 * Ute: (Chemehuevi)


 * Asturian: a puntu de
 * Catalan: a punt de
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: ,
 * Danish:, på vej til
 * Dutch: op het punt staan
 * Esperanto:
 * Finnish:, vähällä, aikeissa
 * French: sur le point
 * Galician: a punto de
 * German: bereit zu
 * Hebrew:
 * Hindi: -नेवाला


 * Irish: ar tí
 * Italian:
 * Japanese:
 * Kurdish:
 * Northern Kurdish:
 * Latin: futurus sum, iturus sum
 * Latvian: tūlīt, tūliņ, tikpat kā
 * Macedonian: само што не, штотуку не
 * Norwegian: på veg til
 * Portuguese: prestes a
 * Russian:
 * Slovene:
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish: på väg att


 * Albanian:
 * Arabic:
 * Egyptian Arabic: عن
 * Armenian:
 * Asturian:
 * Azerbaijani:, barədə
 * Bashkir: тураһында, хаҡында, турала
 * Basque:
 * Belarusian: пра, аб
 * Bengali: সম্বন্ধে, নিয়ে
 * Bulgarian:
 * Catalan: ,
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, , ,
 * Czech:
 * Danish:, vedrørende, angående
 * Dutch:, in verband met
 * Esperanto:
 * Finnish: ; olla kyse, olla kysymys
 * French:, ,
 * Galician: sobre, acerca de,
 * Georgian: -ზე
 * German:
 * Greek: ,
 * Ancient: περί
 * Hebrew:, על אודות,
 * Hindi: के बारे
 * Hungarian: ,
 * Icelandic:
 * Ido:
 * Indonesian:
 * Interlingue:
 * Italian:
 * Japanese: について
 * Khmer: ,
 * Korean: ~에 대한, ~에 대해, ~에 관한, ~에 관해
 * Lao: ກ່ຽວກັບ
 * Latin:


 * Latvian: par
 * Lithuanian:
 * Luxembourgish:
 * Macedonian: за, околу
 * Malay:
 * Jawi: تنتڠ, مڠناءي, برکاءيتن دڠن, برکناءن دڠن, دريحال
 * Rumi: tentang, mengenai, berkaitan dengan, berkenaan dengan, darihal
 * Maltese: dwar
 * Mongolian:
 * Ngazidja Comorian: uhusu
 * Northern Sami: birra
 * Norwegian:, angående
 * Novial: pri
 * Old English: be
 * Persian:, راجع به,
 * Polish:
 * Portuguese:
 * Romanian:
 * Russian:, (+ prepositional case),  (+ accusative case)
 * Scottish Gaelic: mu dheidhinn
 * Serbo-Croatian:, о
 * Slovak:
 * Slovene:
 * Sorbian:
 * Lower Sorbian: wó
 * Spanish:, ,
 * Swahili: kuhusu
 * Swedish: ,
 * Talysh: ,
 * Thai:
 * Tibetan: སྐོར, དབང་དུ་ཤོར་ན
 * Turkish: (+ genitive pronouns, but no endings on nouns)
 * Ukrainian:
 * Uzbek:
 * Vietnamese:
 * Volapük:
 * Welsh:
 * Zulu: nga-


 * Arabic:
 * Egyptian Arabic: عن
 * Armenian:
 * Assamese: -অৰ কথা, -অৰ বিষয়ে
 * Asturian: sobre
 * Basque:
 * Catalan:
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, , ,
 * Danish:
 * Dutch:, ,
 * Esperanto:
 * Finnish:
 * French: ,
 * Galician: sobre, acerca de
 * Georgian:
 * German: ,
 * Hebrew:
 * Hindi: के बारे में
 * Ido:
 * Indonesian: ,


 * Italian:, ,
 * Japanese: に関して, について
 * Khmer: ,
 * Kurdish:
 * Northern Kurdish:
 * Latin: ,
 * Latvian: par
 * Macedonian: за, околу
 * Maltese: dwar
 * Norwegian:
 * Pennsylvania German: deswegge, dewegge
 * Persian:
 * Portuguese: preocupado/lidando com
 * Russian: ,
 * Scottish Gaelic: mu dheidhinn
 * Slovene:
 * Spanish: ,
 * Swahili: kuhusu
 * Swedish:
 * Ukrainian:
 * Urdu: کے بارے میں


 * Armenian:
 * Azerbaijani:, yaxınlığında
 * Danish:
 * Dutch:, , in de buurt
 * Esperanto:, (2, on one’s person)
 * Finnish:, läheisyydessä,
 * French: aux environs de
 * Hebrew: באזור, בסביבת
 * Hindi: के बग़ल में, के पास, के नज़दीक
 * Ido:
 * Irish: i dtrátha
 * Italian:
 * Kurdish:
 * Northern Kurdish:


 * Latvian: pie
 * Macedonian: близу
 * Norwegian:
 * Persian: در اطراف
 * Polish:
 * Portuguese:
 * Romanian:
 * Russian:, ,
 * Scottish Gaelic: mun cuairt, mu chuairt
 * Slovak: pri
 * Spanish: cerca de
 * Swedish:
 * Ukrainian: поряд,
 * Zulu: nga- + locative


 * Azerbaijani:
 * Bashkir: янында
 * Danish:
 * Dutch:, in de buurt van


 * Finnish: ,
 * Slovak: pri


 * Finnish:


 * Albanian:, , , ,
 * Bengali:, ,
 * Indonesian:, , , ,
 * Interlingua: ,
 * Kurdish:
 * Northern Kurdish:, , ,


 * Lithuanian: ,
 * Telugu: ,
 * Vietnamese:, , , , , , , , , , ,
 * Volapük:


 * Arabic: حَوَالِي
 * Egyptian Arabic: حوالي
 * Armenian:
 * Azerbaijani: təxminən, təqribən, hardasa
 * Bashkir: тирәһе, самаһы
 * Belarusian: з
 * Bulgarian: ,
 * Burmese:
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:
 * Czech: ,
 * Danish:, ,
 * Dutch:, ,
 * Esperanto:
 * Finnish:, ,
 * French:, ,
 * German: ,
 * Greek:
 * Hebrew: בְּעֵרֶךְ,
 * Ido:


 * Indonesian:
 * Italian: vicino a
 * Japanese: ,
 * Khmer: ,
 * Korean:, ,
 * Kurdish:
 * Northern Kurdish:, ,
 * Kyrgyz:
 * Latin: circiter
 * Macedonian: приближно, околу
 * Maori:
 * Ngazidja Comorian: upara
 * Norwegian:
 * Persian:
 * Polish: ,
 * Portuguese: por volta de, perto de
 * Russian: ,
 * Scottish Gaelic: mu, mu chuairt air
 * Slovak: okolo
 * Slovene: okoli
 * Spanish: cerca de,
 * Swedish:, ,
 * Turkish:
 * Ukrainian: приблизно

Adverb

 * 1) On all sides; around.
 * I looked about at the scenery that surrounded me.
 * 1) * 1599, Robert Greene, The Comical History of Alphonsus King of Aragon, III-ii,
 * Why, then, I see, ‘tis time to look about, / When every boy Alphonsus dares control.
 * 1) Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.
 * Bits of old machinery were lying about.
 * 1) From one place or position to another in succession;.
 * walking about;&emsp; rushing about;&emsp; jumping about;&emsp; thrashing about
 * 1) * 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, 1 Timothy, v,13,
 * And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
 * He and Gerald usually challenged the rollers in a sponson canoe when Gerald was there for the weekend; or, when Lansing came down, the two took long swims seaward or cruised about in Gerald's dory, clad in their swimming-suits; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous,.
 * messing about;&emsp; fooling about;&emsp; loafing about
 * 1) Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost.
 * 2) * c.1590–1591,, The Two Gentlemen of Verona
 * Therefore I know she is about my height.
 * 1) * 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Matthew, xx, 3,
 * And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace
 * 1) * 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Exodus, ix, 18
 * Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
 * 1) * 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Exodus, xxxii,28:
 * And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
 * “Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.”
 * 1) Near; in the vicinity.
 * 2) To a reversed order; half round; facing in the opposite direction; from a contrary point of view.
 * 3) * 1888, Horatio Alger, The Errand Boy,
 * Mr. Carter, whose back had been turned, turned about and faced his niece.
 * 1)  To the opposite tack.
 * 2)  In succession; one after another; in the course of events.
 * 3) * 1818, James Hogg, published in The Scots Magazine, Vol. 86, p. 218, "On the Life and Writings of James Hogg" [Quoted in the OED]
 * When he had finished, he drew his plaid around his head, and went slowly down to the little dell, where he used every day to offer up his morning and evening prayers, and where we have often sat together on Sabbath afternoons, reading verse about with our children in the Bible.
 * 1)  In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; in circumference.
 * 2) * 1886, Duncan Keith, A history of Scotland: civil and ecclesiastical from the earliest times to the death of David I, 1153, Vol.1,
 * Nothing daunted, the fleet put to sea, and after sailing about the island for some time, a landing was effected in the west of Munster.
 * 1) * 1888, Horatio Alger, The Errand Boy,
 * Mr. Carter, whose back had been turned, turned about and faced his niece.
 * 1)  To the opposite tack.
 * 2)  In succession; one after another; in the course of events.
 * 3) * 1818, James Hogg, published in The Scots Magazine, Vol. 86, p. 218, "On the Life and Writings of James Hogg" [Quoted in the OED]
 * When he had finished, he drew his plaid around his head, and went slowly down to the little dell, where he used every day to offer up his morning and evening prayers, and where we have often sat together on Sabbath afternoons, reading verse about with our children in the Bible.
 * 1)  In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; in circumference.
 * 2) * 1886, Duncan Keith, A history of Scotland: civil and ecclesiastical from the earliest times to the death of David I, 1153, Vol.1,
 * Nothing daunted, the fleet put to sea, and after sailing about the island for some time, a landing was effected in the west of Munster.
 * 1) * 1886, Duncan Keith, A history of Scotland: civil and ecclesiastical from the earliest times to the death of David I, 1153, Vol.1,
 * Nothing daunted, the fleet put to sea, and after sailing about the island for some time, a landing was effected in the west of Munster.

Synonyms

 * around

Translations

 * Danish:
 * Dutch:
 * Esperanto: ĉirkaŭe
 * Finnish:, , ympärille
 * Greek:
 * Hebrew: מסביב
 * Irish: thart
 * Kyrgyz:
 * Macedonian: наоколу


 * Norwegian:
 * Polish:, ,
 * Portuguese: ao redor, em volta
 * Russian:
 * Scottish Gaelic: mun cuairt, mu chuairt
 * Slovene: okrog
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish:
 * Ukrainian: навколо


 * Danish:
 * Dutch: rond-
 * Esperanto: ĉirkaŭe
 * Finnish:
 * Hebrew:, ,
 * Ido:
 * Irish: thart
 * Italian:


 * Korean: ,
 * Macedonian: ваму-таму
 * Polish:, , tu i tam,
 * Portuguese: por aí
 * Russian: ,
 * Scottish Gaelic: mun cuairt, mu chuairt
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish:


 * Arabic: حَوَالِي
 * Belarusian: прыблі́зна, блі́зка
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:
 * Czech: ,
 * Danish:, ,
 * Dutch:, ,
 * Esperanto: proksimume,
 * Finnish:, ,
 * French:
 * German: ,
 * Greek:
 * Hebrew: בערך
 * Ido: ,
 * Japanese:, , 大略


 * Korean:, ,
 * Latin: circiter
 * Macedonian: речиси
 * Norwegian:
 * Old English: hūhwega, nēah
 * Plautdietsch: onjefäa
 * Polish:, ,
 * Portuguese:, ,
 * Romanian:
 * Russian:, , ,
 * Slovak: asi, približne
 * Slovene: približno, okoli
 * Spanish:
 * Swahili: kadiri ya
 * Swedish: ,
 * Ukrainian: прибли́зно, ,


 * Dutch: ,
 * Finnish:


 * Old English: nēah
 * Spanish:


 * Danish:
 * Dutch:, in tegenovergestelde richting
 * Esperanto: returnen
 * Finnish:
 * Korean:


 * Macedonian: о́братно
 * Old English: wiþersīnes
 * Polish:
 * Russian:
 * Slovene:


 * Dutch:


 * Finnish: toiselle halssille


 * Dutch: ,
 * Finnish:, ,


 * Russian:


 * Danish: i omkreds
 * Dutch:
 * Esperanto: ĉirkaŭe
 * Finnish:
 * Greek:
 * Hebrew: מסביב
 * Ido:
 * Korean: 둥글게


 * Macedonian: околу
 * Norwegian:
 * Polish: wkoło
 * Portuguese: ao redor
 * Russian:
 * Scottish Gaelic: mun cuairt, mu chuairt
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish:


 * Albanian:, , , ,
 * Indonesian:, , , , ,  , ,


 * Vietnamese:, , , , , , ,


 * Finnish: liikkeellä

Adjective

 * 1) Moving around; astir.
 * 2) * 1898,, Moonfleet,
 * 'John, I have observed that you are often out and about of nights, sometimes as late as half past seven or eight.'
 * 1) In existence; being in evidence; apparent.
 * 2) * 2005, IDG Communications, Digit, Issues 89-94,
 * Although it has been about for some time now, I like the typeface Sauna.
 * 1) * 2006, Great Britain Parliament: House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, Energy: Meeting With Malcolm Wicks MP,
 * Is not this sudden interest in capturing CO2 — and it has been about for a little while — simply another hidey-hole for the government to creep into?
 * 1) Near; in the vicinity or neighbourhood.
 * I had my keys just a minute ago, so they must be about somewhere.
 * Watch out, there's a thief about.
 * Is not this sudden interest in capturing CO2 — and it has been about for a little while — simply another hidey-hole for the government to creep into?
 * 1) Near; in the vicinity or neighbourhood.
 * I had my keys just a minute ago, so they must be about somewhere.
 * Watch out, there's a thief about.

Noun

 * 1)  The extremity of a metallic or wooden element or piece.