about

about [ə bout′]

adv.

[ME aboute(n) < OE onbūtan, around < on, ON + be, BY + ūtan, outside < ūt, OUT: all senses develop from the sense of “around”]

1. on every side; all around [look about]

2. here and there; in all directions [travel about]

3. in circumference; around the outside [ten miles about]

4. near [standing somewhere about]

5. in the opposite direction; to a reversed position [turn it about]

6. in succession or rotation [play fair — turn and turn about]

7. nearly; approximately [about four years old]

8. Informal all but; almost [about ready]

adj.

1. astir; on the move [he is up and about again]

2. in the vicinity; prevalent [typhoid is about]

3.

a) ready; likely immediately: followed by an infinitive [I was about to speak]

b) willing or inclined: used with not and an infinitive [I'm not about to exercise regularly]: Used only in the predicate

prep.

1. around; on all sides of

2. here and there in; everywhere in [rambling about the town]

3. near to in time or space [born about 1960, keeping my keys about me]

4. concerned with; attending to [go about your business]

5. on the subject of; concerning [a book about ships]

6. in connection with; pertaining to [the most interesting thing about her]

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be what something is all about

Informal to be the true purpose of or reason for something