about
/əˈbaʊt/
"about" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“about” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #43 in English word frequency and used as a preposition.
- #43
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 19
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of; around.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | about |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Preposition |
| IPA | /əˈbaʊt/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #43 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 19 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “about” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for about is 5 letters long, classified as a preposition, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈbaʊt/. Corpus data places it at rank #43 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for about, with forms such as "abbout", "abotu", and "aboutt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "Abu", "alot", "above", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *ana- Proto-West Germanic *ana- Old English on-? Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bi Proto-West Germanic *bī Proto-West Germa… The correct English form is about, spelled A-B-O-U-T.
Definition
- 1In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of; around.
- 2Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.
- 3Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something.
- 4Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something.
- 5Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of.
- 6Concerned or occupied with; engaged in; intent on.
- 7Within or in the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place.
- 8On one’s person; nearby the person.
- 9On or near (one's person); attached as an attribute to; in the makeup of, or at the command of.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *ana- Proto-West Germanic *ana- Old English on-? Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bi Proto-West Germanic *bī Proto-West Germanic *bi- Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-West Germanic *ūtō Proto-West Germanic *ūtan Proto-West Germanic *biūtan Old English būtan Old English onbūtan Middle English aboute English about Preposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”). Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”). Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abbout,abotu,aboutt,abuot,aobut,baout
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of about - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "about"?
What does "about" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "about"?
How do you pronounce "about"?
What is the origin of the word "about"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “about”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-B-O-U-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈbaʊt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Abu” - see the side-by-side comparison. about vs Abu
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.