To concern or relate to a particular topic; or to be present and active nearby.
To be the topic of something, or to be somewhere nearby.
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To have a particular topic, theme, or purpose; to concern something.
"The documentary is about climate change and its effects on coastal communities."
It's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
— Rocky Balboa (2006 film), dialogue spoken by Sylvester Stallone
To be present in a place or area, moving around. (Chiefly British English)
"There were a few tourists about the square even in the early morning."
To represent a core value, principle, or priority — what something fundamentally stands for. (Informal, evaluative)
"Running a good restaurant is about consistency, not just creativity."
To be around (about) something — in or near a topic or place.
To be the topic of something, or to be somewhere nearby.
'Be about' meaning 'to concern' is very common in everyday English (e.g., 'What's it about?'). The sense of physical presence ('be about the place') is chiefly British. Also used as a modal-like phrase: 'be about to' (on the verge of doing something) is a separate but highly common structure.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "be about" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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