Meaning
3 senses(not comparable)Moving around or in motion; astir.
out and about; up and about
After my bout with Guillan-Barre Syndrome, it took me 6 months to be up and about again.
(not comparable)In existence; being in evidence; apparent.
This idea has been about for a while but has only recently become fashionable.
(not comparable)Near; in the vicinity or neighbourhood.
I had my keys just a minute ago, so they must be about somewhere.
Watch out, there's a thief about.
- on the move
Examples
41863 sentencesI'm very sorry about the mistake.
Мені дуже шкода із-за помилки. — deniko
ruЯ сожалею об этой ошибке. — Balamax
Something terrible is about to happen.
Зараз трапиться щось жахливе. — deniko
ruДолжно произойти что-то ужасное. — Lenin_1917
deEtwas Schreckliches wird geschehen. — Manfredo
The concert is about to start.
Концерт скоро розпочнеться. — deniko
ruКонцерт скоро начнется. — redscorp
deDas Konzert fängt gleich an. — Wolf
How about going to a movie?
Якщо щодо того, щоб піти в кіно? — deniko
ruКак насчёт того, чтобы сходить в кино? — marafon
deWie wär's, wenn wir ins Kino gehen würden? — xtofu80
I know almost nothing about it.
Я майже нічого не знаю про це. — uaspeaker
ruЯ почти ничего не знаю об этом. — timsa
deIch weiß fast nichts darüber. — Zaghawa
Origin
Preposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtPreposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”) (compare modern English but, bout), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”); equivalent to on + be + out or on + but. Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”). Not related to bout (“period of time”)
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source