how to pronounce about

/əˈbaʊt/

audio example by a male speaker

audio example by a female speaker

the above transcription of about is a detailed (narrow) transcription according to the rules of the International Phonetic Association; you can find a description of each symbol by clicking the phoneme buttons in the secction below.

about is pronounced in two syllables

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1.

2. example pitch curve for pronunciation of about

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video examples of about pronunciation

An example use of about in a speech by a native speaker of british english:

“… action plan from 2 to about 250 p.m. I …”

meanings of about

preposition:

Concerned with; engaged in; intent on.
See about to.
Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of; to affect.
On the point or verge of.
In hand, in the process of doing.
Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.
Within or in the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place.
Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something.
On one's person; nearby the person.
In or near, as in mental faculties or in the possession of; under the control of; at one's command; in one's makeup.
In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.

adverb:

Indicating unproductive or unstructured activity.
From one place or position to another in succession; indicating repeated movement or activity.
Near; in the vicinity.
On all sides; around.
To a reversed order; half round; facing in the opposite direction; from a contrary point of view.
In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; in circumference.
Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.
To the opposite tack.
In succession; one after another; in the course of events.
Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost.

adjective:

In existence; being in evidence; apparent.
Moving around; astir.
Near; in the vicinity or neighbourhood.

about frequency in english - A1 level of CEFR

the word about occurs in english on average 1971.2 times per one million words; this frequency warrants it to be in the study list for A1 level of language mastery according to CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference.

topics about can be related to

it is hard to perfectly classify words into specific topics since each word can have many context of its use, but our machine-learning models believe that about can be often used in the following areas:

1) communication, information, and media;

2) people, society, and culture;