About Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of ABOUT is reasonably close to. How to use about in a sentence. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut about adverb SaveWord \ə-ˈbau̇t \ Definitionofabout (Entry1of3) 1a :reasonablycloseto aboutayearago b :almost aboutstarvedjustaboutfinished c :onthevergeof —usuallyusedwithbeandafollowinginfinitiveisabouttojointhearmy—usedwithanegativetoexpressintentionordeterminationnotabouttoquit 2 :onallsides:around lookedaboutforaplacetopark 3a :inrotation Theygoaboutincircles. b :aroundtheoutside 4 :inmanydifferentdirections:hereandthere walkedaboutforhours 5 :inthevicinity:near Hespoketothepeoplestandingabout. 6 :intheoppositedirection faceabouttheotherwayabout about preposition Definitionofabout (Entry2of3) 1 :inacirclearound:oneverysideof:around Peoplegatheredabouthim. 2a :intheimmediateneighborhoodof:near Fishareabundantaboutthereefs. b :onornearthepersonof hadapleasingfragranceabouther c :inthemakeupof amaturewisdomabouthim d :atthecommandof hashiswitsabouthim 3 :engagedin …actasiftheyknowwhatthey'reabout…—T.S.Matthews 4a :withregardto:concerning spokeabouthispast b :concernedwith c :fundamentallyconcernedwithordirectedtoward …pokerisaboutmoney.—DavidMamet 5 :overorindifferentpartsof Hetraveledaboutthecountry. about adjective Definitionofabout (Entry3of3) 1 :movingfromplacetoplace specifically :beingoutofbed isupandaboutby7a.m. 2 :aroundsense2 Thereisascarcityofjobsabout. Synonyms MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutabout Synonymsforabout Synonyms:Adverb around, round Synonyms:Preposition apropos, aproposof, asfaras, asfor, asregards (alsoasrespects), asto, concerning, of, on, regarding, respecting, touching, toward (ortowards) VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofaboutinaSentence Adverb We'reaboutreadytogo. Thisoneisaboutasbadasthatone. That'saboutallIknowatthispoint. It'sabouttimetogo. That'saboutallthetimewehave. Wetriedjustabouteverythingwecouldthinkof. Preposition apoignantstoryaboutayoungmanwhogoesofftowar aboutthehedgetherewasapicketfence SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Adverb Well,publishinganarticleinTaxNotesisevenworse,becauseTaxNotesisregularlyreadbyjustaboutanytaxprofessionalwhoclaimsthattitle,includingnotjustafewfolksattheIRS,Treasury,andtheaforementionedCongressionalcommittees. — JayAdkisson,Forbes,24Dec.2021 ButYoungsaidthatforhim,theroleisn’tjustaboutputtingontheiconicredoutfit,beardandboots. — NBCNews,23Dec.2021 Theeventwasnotjustaboutsacredcelestialphenomena,however. — LosAngelesTimes,21Dec.2021 ThelatestfiguresfromtheLaborDepartmenthavejustaboutmetbothhurdles. — MichaelWursthorn,WSJ,21Dec.2021 Onceeverythingisjustaboutcombined,addinthebuttermilkandbeatuntilitisallfullycombined. — CNN,20Dec.2021 TheintersectionisaboutablockfromanothershootingFridayaround9:19p.m. — JeanMarbella,baltimoresun.com,18Dec.2021 The18-yearoldCanadian—whorecentlymovedtoLosAngeles—revealedthatheralbumisjustaboutdone. — MicheleAmabileAngermiller,Variety,11Dec.2021 Buttheconcernisthatthepriceincreasesareshowingupjustabouteverywhere,includingincornersoftheeconomynotdirectlypummeledbythecovidrecession. — WashingtonPost,9Dec.2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Preposition Theinstitutealsopredictsthatsingle-dayCOVID-19deathscouldclimbashighas2,000nationallybyearlyFebruary,aboutthesamenumberreportedduringtheDeltasurgebutfewerthanthenearly3,500dailydeathsduringlastwinter’speak. — LosAngelesTimes,24Dec.2021 Forexample,thereare1,500nursingvacanciesinNewYork'sthreelargesthospitalsalone—aboutdoublethenumberattheonsetofthepandemic,saidCarlGinsberg,aspokesmanforthe42,000-memberNewYorkStateNursesAssociation. — IrinaIvanova,CBSNews,24Dec.2021 InGermany,consumergroupsandemployersaregrumblingaboutasuddenspikeinthepriceoftestingkits(iftheycanevenbeobtained). — VivienneWalt,Fortune,24Dec.2021 Robberycrimesareaboutthesamethisyearcomparedtolast,sittingat7,633robberiesasofDec.19thisyear. — FoxNews,24Dec.2021 Forexample,thereare1,500nursingvacanciesinNewYork'sthreelargesthospitalsalone,oraboutdoublethenumberattheonsetofthepandemic,saidCarlGinsberg,aspokesmanforthe42,000-memberNewYorkStateNursesAssociation. — PhilipMarcelo,AnneD'innocenzio,USATODAY,24Dec.2021 LearnallaboutcoldweatherClematisandhowtomarrythemwithshrubs,trees,andmore. — courant.com,23Dec.2021 Thedistance-learningwatchmakingclassesaregearedforbothnovicesandthosewhoknowallabouttimepieces. — RobertaNaas,Forbes,23Dec.2021 Today,averagewagesremainstuckataround$2,800amonth,aboutthesamelevelastwodecadesago. — NewYorkTimes,23Dec.2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Adjective Becauseofthebipartisaninfrastructurebill,theU.S.isabouttogoonaresearch-spendingspree. — RobinsonMeyer,TheAtlantic,22Dec.2021 Butlastmonth,whathadbeenasomewhatnicheconcernexplodedintopublicview,asrumorsspreadthatEvergrandewasabouttogobankrupt. — NewYorkTimes,19Oct.2021 Ford’sin-ringlifeisabouttogothroughmorechanges. — JayReddick,orlandosentinel.com,15Oct.2021 And,inthefinalpieceofnot-so-goodnewsforAmericans,thepriceofaUSpassportisabouttosoar. — MaureenO'hare,CNN,25Dec.2021 Coldplaymaybeabouttoleaveitsfansinthecold. — DavidOliver,USATODAY,24Dec.2021 MelTuckerisabouttoloseakeycomponenttoMichiganState’sfootballcoachingstaff. — ChrisSolari,DetroitFreePress,24Dec.2021 Themovieiseightminutesold,andalreadymonthshavepassed,twoliveshavebeenturnedupsidedown,andathirdlifeisabouttobegin. — AnthonyLane,TheNewYorker,24Dec.2021 Therewere400peopleinthisroomwhowereabouttojudgeit. — JohnBenson,cleveland,24Dec.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'about.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofabout Adverb beforethe12thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1aPreposition beforethe12thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1Adjective 1745,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforabout Adverb MiddleEnglishabuten,aboute,goingbacktoOldEnglishabūtan,abūton,froma-a-entry1+būtan"outside,without"—moreatbutentry1 Preposition MiddleEnglish,goingbacktoOldEnglishabūtan,derivativeofabūtanaboutentry1 Adjective MiddleEnglish,derivativeofaboutaboutentry1 LearnMoreAboutabout Shareabout PosttheDefinitionofabouttoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofaboutonTwitter TimeTravelerforabout Thefirstknownuseofaboutwas beforethe12thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearabout aboundin/with about about-face SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforabout LastUpdated 26Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “About.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/about.Accessed7Jan.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforabout about adverb \ə-ˈbau̇t \ KidsDefinitionofabout (Entry1of2) 1 :almost,nearly aboutanhourago 2 :onallsides:around Beeswereswarmingabout. 3 :intheoppositedirection Theshipcameabout. 4 :onthevergeof Iwasabouttocallyou. about preposition KidsDefinitionofabout (Entry2of2) 1 :havingtodowith Thestoryisaboutdogs. 2 :oneverysideof:around Therearetreesaboutthehouse. 3 :overorindifferentpartsof Hetraveledaboutthecountry. 4 :nearornotfarfromintime aboutthemiddleofthemonth MorefromMerriam-Websteronabout Nglish:TranslationofaboutforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofaboutforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY voluble SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary FarmIdiomsQuiz Whatdoes'poke'refertointheexpression'piginapoke'? stateofdifficulty mudpit stable bag Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay “InVinoVeritas”andOtherLatinPhrasestoLiveBy Top10LatinPhrases DiggingUptheLatinRootsof14Abbreviations Beyond'i.e.'and'e.g.' TryNottoSlipon'Peel'and'Peal' Eyesarepeeled;thepealsareoflaughter 'Apricity'andOtherRareWintryWords Hiemal,brumation,&rarewintrywords AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames AdvancedVocabularyQuiz Toughwordsandtoughercompetition. Takethequiz NaughtyorNice Aquizofvicesandvirtues Takethequiz SpellIt Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? Takethequiz