Adverb
1. (of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct;
"lasted approximately an hour""in just about a minute""he's about 30 years old""I've had about all I can stand""we meet about once a month""some forty people came""weighs around a hundred pounds""roughly $3,000""holds 3 gallons, more or less""20 or so people were at the party"2. all around or on all sides;
"dirty clothes lying around (or about)""let's look about for help""There were trees growing all around""she looked around her"3. in the area or vicinity;
"a few spectators standing about""hanging around""waited around for the next flight"4. to or among many different places or in no particular direction;
"wandering about with no place to go""people were rushing about""news gets around (or about)""traveled around in Asia""he needs advice from someone who's been around""she sleeps around"5. in or to a reversed position or direction;
"about face""brought the ship about""suddenly she turned around"6. in rotation or succession;
"turn about is fair play"7. (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; `near' is sometimes used informally for `nearly' and `most' is sometimes used informally for `almost';
"the job is (just) about done""the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded""we're almost finished""the car all but ran her down""he nearly fainted""talked for nigh onto 2 hours""the recording is well-nigh perfect""virtually all the parties signed the contract""I was near exhausted by the run""most everyone agrees"