Definition of: about

(ə·bout′) adverb
1. Around the outside; on every side: Blessings compass thee about.
2. Almost: about finished; approximately: in about an hour.
3. Around, in revolution or rotation: turn and turn about.
4. In any direction; toward any, every, or the opposite side: to look or move about.
5. Here and there, as without direction: to wander about.
—prep.
1. On the outside or on every side of; encircling: walls about the city.
2. Here and there in; to and fro upon: lambs running about the fields.
3. Somewhere near or within; on some side of: Stay about the house today.
4. Attached to as an attribute: an aura of sanctity about her.
5. Approximating to; not far from, as in quantity or time: leaving about midnight; troops numbering about four thousand.
6. Engaged in: concerned with: Go on about your business; He goes about his work skilfully.
7. In reference to; concerning: a book about Napoleon.
8. In possession of; at hand: I do not have the money about me. See synonyms under AT. [OE onbūtan, ābūtan]