|
Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th
about
about adverb, preposition, adjective BrE [əˈbaʊt] NAmE [əˈbaʊt]
adverb
1. a little more or less than; a little before or after
Syn: ↑approximately
• It costs about $10.
•They waited (for) about an hour.
•He arrived (at) about ten.
2. nearly; very close to
• I'm just about ready.
• This is about the best we can hope for.
3. (especially BrE)in many directions; here and there
• The children were rushing about in the garden.
4. (especially BrE)in no particular order; in various places
• Her books were lying about on the floor.
5. (especially BrE)doing nothing in particular
• People were standing about in the road.
6. (especially BrE)able to be found in a place
•There was nobody about.
•There's a lot of flu about.
•She's somewhere about— I saw her a few minutes ago.
7. (technical or formal)facing the opposite direction
•He brought the ship about.
more at just about at ↑just adv., out and about at ↑out adv.
Word Origin:
Old English onbūtan, from on ‘in, on’ + būtan ‘outside of’ .
Thesaurus:
about adv.
1.
•It costs about $10.
approximately • • roughly • • around • • round about • • something like • • more or less •
Opp: exactly
2.
•about the best we can hope for
almost • • nearly • • virtually • • more or less • • practically • |spoken pretty much • • pretty well •
just about/almost/nearly/virtually/more or less/practically/pretty much ready
Which Word?:
around / round / about
Around and round can often be used with the same meaning in BrE, though around is more formal: ▪ The earth goes round/around the sun. ◇ ▪ They live round/around the corner. ◇ ▪ We travelled round/around India. ◇ ▪ She turned round/around when I came in. In NAmE only around can be used in these meanings.
Around, round and about can also sometimes be used with the same meaning in BrE: ▪ The kids were running around/round/about outside. ◇ ▪ I’ve been waiting around/round/about to see her all day. In NAmE only around can be used in these meanings. About or around can be used in both BrE and NAmE to mean ‘approximately’: ▪ We left around/about 8 o’clock.
Idioms: ↑about to do something ▪ ↑how about …? ▪ ↑not be about to do something ▪ ↑that's about all ▪ ↑that's about it
preposition
1. on the subject of sb/sth; in connection with sb/sth
•a book about flowers
• Tell me all about it.
• What's she so angry about?
•There's something strange about him.
•I don't know what you're on about (= talking about).
•There's nothing you can do about it now.
2. used to describe the purpose or an aspect of sth
• Movies are all about making money these days.
•What was all that about? (= what was the reason for what has just happened?)
3. busy with sth; doing sth
• Everywhere people were going about their daily business.
•And while you're about it … (= while you're doing that)
4. (especially BrE)in many directions in a place; here and there
• We wandered about the town for an hour or so.
•He looked about the room.
5. (especially BrE)in various parts of a place; here and there
•The papers were strewn about the room.
6. (especially BrE)next to a place or person; in the area mentioned
•She's somewhere about the office.
7. (literary)surrounding sb/sth
•She wore a shawl about her shoulders.
Word Origin:
Old English onbūtan, from on ‘in, on’ + būtan ‘outside of’ .
Language Bank:
about
Saying what a text is about
▪ The book is about ▪ homeless people in the cities.
▪ The report deals with ▪ the issue of homelessness in London.
▪ The writer discusses ▪ the problems faced by homeless people.
▪ The article presents an overview of ▪ the issues surrounding homelessness.
▪ The novel explores ▪ the theme of friendship among homeless people.
▪ The first chapter examines ▪ the relationship between homelessness and drug addiction.
▪ The paper considers ▪ the question of why so many young people become homeless.
adjective
Word Origin:
[about] Old English onbūtan, from on ‘in, on’ + būtan ‘outside of’ .
|
|
|
▼ Từ liên quan / Related words
Related search result for "about"
|
|
