Definition of THEREABOUT

thereabout

Meanings

Adverb

  • near that time or date
    • "come at noon or thereabouts"
  • near that place
    • "he stayed in London or thereabouts for several weeks"

Adv

  • About or near that place.
  • About or around that date or time.
  • About or near to that condition or quality.
  • Approximately that number or quantity.
  • About that; concerning that.
  • Near to that activity or situation.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English ther-aboute, ther-abouten (“of a place or an object: around there, in its vicinity; surrounding it; nearby, neighbouring; here and there, throughout that place; of an action, matter, etc.: about, concerning; of an amount or distance: approximately, more or less; of time: about then, around that time”) [and other forms], from Old English þǣr-ābūtan, þǣr-onbūtan, from þǣr (“there”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só (“this; that”) + *-r) + abūtan, onbūtan (“about; round about; on; on the outside”) (from on- (prefix meaning ‘on; upon; there; thither; to’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- (“on; onto”)) + būtan (“just, merely, only”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep- + *úd (“away; out; outwards; upwards”))). The English word is analysable as there + about.
The word is attested earlier than thereabouts.

Scrabble Score: 15

thereabout is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
thereabout is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
thereabout is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

thereabout is a valid Words With Friends word