about

The word “about” means concerning a particular subject; on the topic of. In plain terms, a flexible little word covering topic ("about the weather"), rough location ("about the house"), and rough estimate ("about ten").

“About” is pronounced uh-BOWT (/əˈbaʊ̯t/ in IPA).

Here is “about” used in a sentence: “The documentary is about deep-sea creatures.”

Words with a similar meaning to “about” include anent, apropos, apropos of, as far as, as regards and as for.

The opposite of “about” — its antonyms — are by the by, by the way, irrespective of, malapropos and in passing.

Depending on how it is used, “about” can be a preposition, an adverb and an adjective.

The word “about” comes from Old English. From Old English onbutan, a fusion of on and butan ("outside of"), which itself combines be ("by") and utan ("outside") — so, quite literally, "by the outside.".

“About” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

Both introduce a subject, but "on" suggests something more formal or systematic: "a lecture on quantum physics" versus "a chat about the weather." "About" is the neutral, everyday choice and fits almost any context.

When the meaning is "surrounding" or "here and there within an area," the two overlap: "papers scattered about the room" or "around the room." "Around" is generally more common in American English, while "about" in this spatial sense can sound slightly more literary or British.

"About" is the plain, everyday preposition for introducing a topic, while "regarding," "concerning," and "with regard to" belong to formal or business writing. Style guides generally recommend "about" unless extra formality is genuinely needed.

Yes, "about" is commonly used before numbers and quantities to mean "roughly": "about ten miles," "about an hour." This use is neutral in register and works in both formal and informal writing.