Meanings
- idiomaticverbwith infinitiveIndicates something that will happen very soon; indicates action that is imminent; ready to; went to
She seemed about to say something.
4 more examples
He's standing at the edge, and I think he's about to jump.
And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:
1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Acts of the Apostles, xviii, 14I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLCI had travelled one morning down to Aylesbury, and had left my train, and was about to cross the footbridge, when I heard the imperious whistle of a "B1." I paused, and round the bend came the "Master Cutler" with its engine working absolutely flat out.
1955 April, W. J. Alcock, “Unforgettable Moments”, in Railway Magazine, page 271 - CanadainformalIndicates that one has no intention of doing the stated thing at any time in the future.
I'm not about to wander around at night to find it.
1 more example
I'm not about to let the lockdown stop me from going to the beach every day.
- obsoleteIndicates that one is preparing or planning to do the stated thing at some time in the future, not necessarily imminently.First known use ca. 1150—1350 to late 18th c.
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
Ancient Greek μέλλω
- μέλλω (méllō)indicating imminence
Arabic عَلَى وَشْك
- عَلَى وَشْك (ʕalā wašk)indicating imminence
Chinese Mandarin 快要, 剛要 /刚要
- 快要 (kuàiyào)indicating imminence
- 剛要 /刚要 (gāngyào)indicating imminence
Danish være ved at
- være ved atindicating imminence
Dutch op het punt staan te
- op het punt staan teindicating imminence
Esperanto baldaŭ
- baldaŭindicating imminence
French sur le point de, aller
- sur le point deindicating imminence
- allerindicating imminence
German gleich, wollen
- gleichindicating imminence
- wollenindicating imminence
Hebrew עמד ל־
- עמד ל־ (amád l-)indicating imminence
Hungarian készül, szándékában áll
- készülindicating imminence
- szándékában állindicating imminence
Icelandic alveg að
- alveg aðindicating imminence
Indonesian hampir saja
- hampir sajaindicating imminence
Irish ar tí, ar shéala
- ar tíindicating imminence
- ar shéalaindicating imminence
Italian in procinto di, sul punto di
- in procinto diindicating imminence
- sul punto diindicating imminence
- stare perindicating imminence
Japanese ... ところ, まさに...しようとしている
- ... ところ (...tokoro)indicating imminence
- まさに...しようとしている (masa ni ... shiyō to shite iru)indicating imminence
Korean (으)려고 하다
- (으)려고 하다indicating imminence
Lithuanian ruoštis, ketinti
- ruoštisindicating imminence
- ketintiindicating imminence
- tuojindicating imminence
- greitaiindicating imminence
Māori whano, hono
- whanoindicating imminence
- honoindicating imminence
Norwegian Bokmål være i ferd med å
- være i ferd med åindicating imminence
Polish zaraz, właśnie
- zarazindicating imminence
- właśnieindicating imminence
Portuguese no limiar de, prestes a
- no limiar deindicating imminence
- prestes aindicating imminence
- a ponto deindicating imminence
Russian собира́ться
- собира́ться (sobirátʹsja)indicating imminence
Scottish Gaelic an impis
- an impisindicating imminence
Spanish a punto de, estar para
- a punto deindicating imminence
- estar paraindicating imminence
Swedish på väg att
- på väg attindicating imminence
Thai กำลังจะ
- กำลังจะ (gam-lang jà)indicating imminence
Turkish üzere
- üzereindicating imminence
Vietnamese sắp
- sắpindicating imminence
Welsh ar, ar fin
- arindicating imminence
- ar finindicating imminence
Yiddish האַלטן בײַם
- האַלטן בײַם (haltn baym)indicating imminence
Cite this entry
about to. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/about%20to
“about to.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/about%20to. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “about to,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/about%20to.
Source: about to on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.