Transcription
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
-
- [uh-bout]
- /əˈbaʊt/
- /əˈbaʊt/
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [uh-bout]
- /əˈbaʊt/
Definitions of about word
- preposition about You use about to introduce who or what something relates to or concerns. 3
- preposition about When you mention the things that an activity or institution is about, you are saying what it involves or what its aims are. 3
- preposition about You use about after some adjectives to indicate the person or thing that a feeling or state of mind relates to. 3
- preposition about If you do something about a problem, you take action in order to solve it. 3
- preposition about When you say that there is a particular quality about someone or something, you mean that they have this quality. 3
- adverb about About is used in front of a number to show that the number is not exact. 3
Information block about the term
Origin of about
First appearance:
before 900 One of the 4% oldest English words
before 900; Middle English aboute(n), Old English abūtan, onbūtan on the outside of (a- a-1 + būtan outside (see but1, but2), equivalent to b(e) by1 + ūtan), cognate with Gothic utana, Old Norse, Old Saxon ūtan, Old Frisian ūta, Old High German ūzan(a) outside; see out; cf. above, abaft for formation
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for About
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
about popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 100% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
about usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for about
adv about
- around — To be positioned around a place or object means to surround it or be on all sides of it. To move around a place means to go along its edge, back to your starting point.
- back — If you move back, you move in the opposite direction to the one in which you are facing or in which you were moving before.
- backward — A backward movement or look is in the direction that your back is facing. Some people use backwards for this meaning.
- round — having a flat, circular surface, as a disk.
- anyhow — Anyhow means the same as anyway.
prep about
- almost — You use almost to indicate that something is not completely the case but is nearly the case.
- nearly — all but; almost: nearly dead with cold.
- roughly — having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth: rough, red hands; a rough road.
- approximately — close to; around; roughly or in the region of
- practically — in effect; virtually: It is practically useless to protest.
adverb about
- approaching — coming closer in time
- on the order of — an authoritative direction or instruction; command; mandate.
- more or less — in greater quantity, amount, measure, degree, or number: I need more money.
- something like — of the same form, appearance, kind, character, amount, etc.: I cannot remember a like instance.
- just about — more or less
conjunction about
- or — a Boolean operator that returns a positive result when either or both operands are positive.
preposition about
- on — so as to be or remain supported by or suspended from: Put your package down on the table; Hang your coat on the hook.
- as regards — You can use as regards to indicate the subject that is being talked or written about.
- re — regular expression
adjective about
- respecting — regarding; concerning.
- relative — a person who is connected with another or others by blood or marriage.
- in regard to — to look upon or think of with a particular feeling: to regard a person with favor.
- in essence — the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features: Freedom is the very essence of our democracy.
- for all intents and purposes — something that is intended; purpose; design; intention: The original intent of the committee was to raise funds.
Antonyms for about
prep about
- afar — Afar means a long way away.
- away — If someone or something moves or is moved away from a place, they move or are moved so that they are no longer there. If you are away from a place, you are not in the place where people expect you to be.
- distant — far off or apart in space; not near at hand; remote or removed (often followed by from): a distant place; a town three miles distant from here.
- far — at or to a great distance; a long way off; at or to a remote point: We sailed far ahead of the fleet.
- remote — far apart; far distant in space; situated at some distance away: the remote jungles of Brazil.
Top questions with about
- what about bob?
- what does it mean when you dream about someone?
- what i like about you?
- what does the bible say about homosexuality?
- knowing what i know about heaven?
- what does it mean when you dream about snakes?
- what about coffee?
- how about we?
- what does the bible say about tattoos?
- what we talk about when we talk about love?
- which of the following statements about adaptive radiation is correct?
- how about no?
- how about now?
- what does the bible say about marriage?
- what does the bible say about divorce?