about to
Idioms-
Ready to, on the verge of, as in I was about to leave when it began to rain , or He hasn't finished yet but he's about to . This usage was first recorded in Miles Coverdale's 1535 translation of the Bible (Joshua 18:8).
-
not about to . Having no intention of doing something, as in The shop steward was not about to cross the picket line , or Are you staying longer?—No, I'm not about to . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Andreas Skov Olsen floated in a cross and all hell was about to break loose.
From BBC
The director then addressed executives at Warner Bros., the prestigious studio that distributed the film and is about to be acquired by Paramount Skydance.
From Barron's
At the slightest hint that your ordeal is about to end, you immediately project all your hopes and dreams onto that illusion.
Even the slightest misstep made me feel like I was about to careen out of control.
"We got on the plane and were literally about to taxi when the pilot said: 'We have some bad news - we're not going anywhere'," she told the BBC.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
