about to

== English == === Pronunciation === === Phrase === about to (idiomatic, with infinitive verb) Indicates something that will happen very soon; indicates action that is imminent; ready to; went to 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Acts of the Apostles, xviii, 14 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: (as negative 'not about to', informal, originally US, Canada) Indicates that one has no intention of doing the stated thing at any time in the future. (obsolete in affirmative) Indicates that one is preparing or planning to do the stated thing at some time in the future, not necessarily imminently. [from ca. 1150—1350 to late 18th c.] ==== Synonyms ==== bound to fixing to on the point of ==== Translations ==== === References === “about to”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.