About (preposition)
In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of. First attested prior to 1150.
About (preposition)
Near; not far from; approximately; regarding time, size, quantity. First attested prior to 1150.
About (preposition)
On the point or verge of.
“the show is about to start;”
“I am not about to admit to your crime”
About (preposition)
On one’s person; nearby the person. First attested around (1150 to 1350.)
About (preposition)
Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout. First attested around (1150 to 1350.)
About (preposition)
Concerned with; engaged in; intent on. First attested around (1150 to 1350.)
About (preposition)
Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of; to affect. First attested around (1150 to 1350.)
“He knew more about what was occurring than anyone.”
About (preposition)
In or near, as in mental faculties or in possession of; in control of; at one’s command; in one’s makeup. First attested around (1350 to 1470.)
“He has his wits about him.”
About (preposition)
In the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place. First attested around (1350 to 1470.)
About (adverb)
Not distant; approximate.
About (adverb)
On all sides; around. First attested before 1150.
About (adverb)
Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down. First attested before 1150.
About (adverb)
Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence, in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost. First attested before 1150.
“about as cold;”
“about as high”
About (adverb)
In succession; one after another; in the course of events. First attested before 1150.
About (adverb)
On the move; active; astir. First attested around 1150 to 1350.
About (adverb)
To a reversed order; half round; facing in the opposite direction; from a contrary point of view. First attested around 1150 to 1350.
“to face about;”
“to turn oneself about”
About (adverb)
Near; in the vicinity. First attested around 1150 to 1350.
About (adverb)
Preparing; planning. Attested from around 1150 to 1350 until the late 18th century.
About (adverb)
In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; in circumference. First attested around 1350 to 1470.
“a mile about, and a third of a mile across”
About (adverb)
Going to; on the verge of; intending to. First attested in the early 16th century.
About (adjective)
Moving around; 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.”
About (adjective)
In existence; being in evidence; apparent
Of (preposition)
Expressing distance or motion.
Of (preposition)
From (of distance, direction), “off”. from the 9th c.
Of (preposition)
Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.). from the 9th c.
Of (preposition)
From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.). from the 10th c.
“There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage.”
Of (preposition)
Expressing separation.
Of (preposition)
Before (the hour); to. from the 19th c.
“What’s the time? / Nearly a quarter of three.”
Of (preposition)
Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object. from 10th c.
“Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband.”
Of (preposition)
Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective. from 10th c.
“He seemed devoid of human feelings.”
Of (preposition)
Expressing origin.
Of (preposition)
Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb. 14th-19th c.
Of (preposition)
Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent. from 9th c.
“The word is believed to be of Japanese origin.”
Of (preposition)
Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation; from, out of, as an expression of. from 9th c.
“The invention was born of necessity.”
Of (preposition)
Indicates the source or cause of the verb. from 10th c.
“It is said that she died of a broken heart.”
Of (preposition)
Expressing agency.
Of (preposition)
Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective. from 13th c.
“I am tired of all this nonsense.”
Of (preposition)
Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by). from 9th c.
“I am not particularly enamoured of this idea.”
Of (preposition)
Used to introduce the “subjective genitive”; following a noun to form the head of a postmodifying noun phrase (see also ‘Possession’ senses below). from 13th c.
“The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties.”
Of (preposition)
Expressing composition, substance.
Of (preposition)
Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective. from 16th c.
“It was very brave of you to speak out like that.”
Of (preposition)
Used to indicate the material or substance used. from 9th c.
“Many ‘corks’ are now actually made of plastic.”
Of (preposition)
Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object. from the 10th c.
“She wore a dress of silk.”
Of (preposition)
Indicating the composition of a given collective or quantitative noun. from 12th c.
“What a lot of nonsense!”
Of (preposition)
Used to link a given class of things with a specific example of that class. from 12th c.
Of (preposition)
Introducing subject matter.
Of (preposition)
Links two nouns in near-apposition, with the first qualifying the second; “which is also”. from 14th c.
“I’m not driving this wreck of a car.”
Of (preposition)
Links an intransitive verb, or a transitive verb and its subject (especially verbs to do with thinking, feeling, expressing etc.), with its subject-matter; concerning, with regard to. from 10th c.
“I’m always thinking of you.”
Of (preposition)
Introduces its subject matter; about, concerning. from 12th c.
“He told us the story of his journey to India.”
Of (preposition)
Having partitive effect.
Of (preposition)
Introduces its subject matter. from 15th c.
“This behaviour is typical of teenagers.”
Of (preposition)
Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment; “from among”. from 9th c.
“Most of these apples are rotten.”
Of (preposition)
Indicates a given part. from 9th c.
Of (preposition)
Some, an amount of, one of. from 9th c.
“On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort.”
Of (preposition)
Expressing possession.
Of (preposition)
Links to a genitive noun or possessive pronoun, with partitive effect (though now often merged with possessive senses, below). from 13th c.
“He is a friend of mine.”
Of (preposition)
Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time. Compare “origin” senses, above. from 9th c.
“He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century.”
Of (preposition)
Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it. from 9th c.
“The owner of the nightclub was arrested.”
Of (preposition)
Forming the “objective genitive”.
Of (preposition)
Belonging to (someone or something) as something they possess or have as a characteristic; the “possessive genitive”. (With abstract nouns, this intersects with the subjective genitive, above under “agency” senses.) from 13th c.
“Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames.”
Of (preposition)
Expressing qualities or characteristics.
Of (preposition)
Follows an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action. from 12th c.
“She had a profound distrust of the police.”
Of (preposition)
Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier; in respect to, as regards. from 13th c.
“My companion seemed affable and easy of manner.”
Of (preposition)
Indicates a quality or characteristic; “characterized by”. from 13th c.
“Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain.”
Of (preposition)
Indicates quantity, age, price, etc. from 13th c.
“We have been paying interest at a rate of 10%.”
Of (preposition)
Expressing a point in time.
Of (preposition)
Used to link singular indefinite nouns (preceded by the indefinite article) and attributive adjectives modified by certain common adverbs of degree.
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
Of (preposition)
During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity. from 9th c.
“Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river.”
Of (preposition)
For (a given length of time). from 13th c.
“I’ve not tekken her out of a goodly long while.”
Of (verb)
eye dialect of have|nodot=1or ’ve, chiefly in depictions of colloquial speech.
About (preposition)
on the subject of; concerning
“it’s all about having fun”
“I was thinking about you”
“a book about ancient Greece”
About (preposition)
so as to affect
“there’s nothing we can do about it”
About (preposition)
used to indicate movement within a particular area
“she looked about the room”
About (preposition)
used to express location in a particular place
“rugs were strewn about the hall”
“he produced a knife from somewhere about his person”
About (preposition)
used to describe a quality apparent in a person
“there was a look about her that said everything”
About (adverb)
used to indicate movement within an area
“men were floundering about”
“finding my way about”
About (adverb)
used to express location in a particular place
“there was a lot of flu about”
About (adverb)
(used with a number or quantity) approximately
“he’s about 35”
“reduced by about 5 per cent”
Of (preposition)
expressing the relationship between a part and a whole.
Of (preposition)
with the word denoting the part functioning as the head of the phrase
“the sleeve of his coat”
“in the back of the car”
“the days of the week”
Of (preposition)
after a number, quantifier, or partitive noun, with the word denoting the whole functioning as the head of the phrase
“a piece of cake”
“a series of programmes”
“nine of the children came to the show”
Of (preposition)
expressing the relationship between a scale or measure and a value
“an increase of 5%”
“a height of 10 metres”
Of (preposition)
expressing an age
“a boy of 15”
Of (preposition)
indicating an association between two entities, typically one of belonging, in which the first is the head of the phrase and the second is something associated with it
“a photograph of the bride”
“the son of a friend”
“the government of India”
“a former colleague of John’s”
Of (preposition)
expressing the relationship between an author, artist, or composer and their works collectively
“the plays of Shakespeare”
“the paintings of Rembrandt”
Of (preposition)
expressing the relationship between a direction and a point of reference
“north of Watford”
Of (preposition)
expressing the relationship between a general category or type and the thing being specified which belongs to such a category
“the idea of a just society”
“the population of interbreeding individuals”
“this type of book”
“the city of Prague”
Of (preposition)
following a noun derived from or related to a verb.
Of (preposition)
followed by a noun expressing the subject of the verb underlying the first noun
“the decision of the County Council”
“the arrival of the police”
“the howling of the wind”
Of (preposition)
followed by a noun expressing the object of the verb underlying the first noun
“the murder of the two boys”
“I am certain of that”
“an admirer of Dickens”
“payment of his debts”
Of (preposition)
where the head of the phrase is a predicative adjective
“I am certain of that”
“it was kind of you to ask”
Of (preposition)
indicating the relationship between a verb and an indirect object.
Of (preposition)
with a verb expressing a mental state
“I don’t know of anything that would be suitable”
Of (preposition)
expressing a cause
“he died of cancer”
Of (preposition)
indicating the material or substance constituting something
“walls of stone”
“the house was built of bricks”
Of (preposition)
expressing time in relation to the following hour
“it would be just a quarter of three in New York”