about.
In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of; around.
Meaning & usage
In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of; around.
The snake was coiled about his ankle.
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.
Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something. See about to.
Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something. On the point or verge of.
Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of.
He talked a lot about his childhood.
We must do something about this problem.
Concerned or occupied with; engaged in; intent on.
just going about their business
Have you much hay about?
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.
On one’s person; nearby the person.
I had no weapon about me but a stick.
The policy covers all belongings and other personal things that somebody can carry about them.
On or near (one's person); attached as an attribute to; in the makeup of, or at the command of.
He has his wits about him.
There was an air of confidence about the woman.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *ana- Proto-West Germanic *ana- Old English on-? Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bi Proto-West Germanic *bī Proto-West Germanic *bi- Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-West Germanic *ūtō Proto-West Germanic *ūtan Proto-West Germanic *biūtan Old English būtan Old English onbūtan Middle English aboute English about Preposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”) (compare modern English but, bout), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”); equivalent to on + be + out or on + but. Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”). Not related to bout (“period of time”) Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).
On all sides, or in every or any direction from a point; around.
I looked about at the scenery that surrounded me.
Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.
Bits of old machinery were lying about.
From one place or position to another in succession; indicating repeated movement or activity.
walking about; rushing about; jumping about; thrashing about
Indicating unproductive or unstructured activity.
messing about; fooling about; loafing about
Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost.
It’s about as cold as it was last winter.
He owes me about three hundred dollars.
Near; in the vicinity.
To a reversed order, direction, or condition; half round; in (or to, or from) the opposite direction.
to face about; to turn oneself about
To a reversed order, direction, or condition; half round; in (or to, or from) the opposite direction. To the opposite tack: see go about.
We went about and headed offshore.
In succession, one after another.
In rotation or revolution.
In the course of events.
In circuit or circumference; circularly.
The island was a mile about, and a third of a mile across.
By a circuitous way; circuitously.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *ana- Proto-West Germanic *ana- Old English on-? Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bi Proto-West Germanic *bī Proto-West Germanic *bi- Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-West Germanic *ūtō Proto-West Germanic *ūtan Proto-West Germanic *biūtan Old English būtan Old English onbūtan Middle English aboute English about Preposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”) (compare modern English but, bout), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”); equivalent to on + be + out or on + but. Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”). Not related to bout (“period of time”) Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).
Moving around or in motion; astir.
out and about; up and about
After my bout with Guillan-Barre Syndrome, it took me 6 months to be up and about again.
In existence; being in evidence; apparent.
This idea has been about for a while but has only recently become fashionable.
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.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *ana- Proto-West Germanic *ana- Old English on-? Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bi Proto-West Germanic *bī Proto-West Germanic *bi- Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-West Germanic *ūtō Proto-West Germanic *ūtan Proto-West Germanic *biūtan Old English būtan Old English onbūtan Middle English aboute English about Preposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”) (compare modern English but, bout), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”); equivalent to on + be + out or on + but. Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”). Not related to bout (“period of time”) Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).
To change the course of (a ship) to the other tack; to bring (a ship) about.
To about-face (turn 180 degrees, like a soldier).
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *ana- Proto-West Germanic *ana- Old English on-? Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bi Proto-West Germanic *bī Proto-West Germanic *bi- Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-West Germanic *ūtō Proto-West Germanic *ūtan Proto-West Germanic *biūtan Old English būtan Old English onbūtan Middle English aboute English about Preposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”) (compare modern English but, bout), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”); equivalent to on + be + out or on + but. Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”). Not related to bout (“period of time”) Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.