adv. 25B6; preposition
a book about ancient Greece : REGARDING, concerning, with reference to, referring to, with regard to, with respect to, respecting, relating to, on, touching on, dealing with, relevant to, connected with, in connection with, on the subject of, in the matter of, apropos, re.
two hundred people were milling about the room : AROUND, round, throughout, over, through, on every side of.
25B6; adverb
there were babies crawling about in the grass : AROUND, here and there, to and fro, back and forth, from place to place, hither and thither, in all directions.
I knew he was about somewhere : NEAR, nearby, around, hereabouts, not far off/away, close by, in the vicinity, in the neighbourhood.
the explosion caused about £15,000 worth of damage : APPROXIMATELY, roughly, around, round about, in the region of, circa, of the order of, something like; or so, or thereabouts, there or thereabouts, more or less, give or take a few, not far off; Brit. getting on for; informal as near as dammit; N. Amer. informal in the ballpark of.
there's a lot of flu about : AROUND, in circulation, in existence, current, going on, prevailing, prevalent, happening, in the air, abroad.
25A0; about to (JUST) GOING TO, ready to, all set to, preparing to, intending to, soon to; on the point of, on the verge of, on the brink of, within an ace of.