Phrase guide

just about

adv · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

adv

Meaning 1

Approximately, very nearly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • ‘Have you already reached your sales target?’ ‘Just about.’
  • I’m (just) about ready.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: -ish, about, all but, almost, approaching, around, by and large, circa, close, close to, essentially, for all practical purposes, fornigh, give or take, imprecisely, just about, kind of, loosely, more or less, nearly, near, nearabout, nigh on, odd, or so, plus or minus, roundly, roughly, say, some, -some, sort of, thereabout, virtually, well-nigh, ±

Antonyms: none provided

2

adverb

Meaning 2

(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • lasted approximately an hour
  • in just about a minute
  • he's about 30 years old
  • I've had about all I can stand
  • we meet about once a month
  • some forty people came
  • weighs around a hundred pounds
  • roughly $3,000
  • holds 3 gallons, more or less
  • 20 or so people were at the party

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: approximately, about, close to, some, roughly, more or less, around, or so

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: zowat — approximately
  • Finnish: jokseenkin — approximately
  • Finnish: jotakuinkin — approximately
  • Finnish: kutakuinkin — approximately
  • Finnish: noin — approximately
  • Finnish: kohta — approximately
  • Finnish: pian — approximately
  • Polish: ledwie — approximately
  • Polish: prawie — approximately
  • Portuguese: aproximadamente — approximately
  • Spanish: casi — approximately
  • Spanish: por poco — approximately
  • Spanish: mal que bien — approximately