7th May 2017 | Lydia Munday Whereabouts ? For some reason, this word is rarely taught in English language course books and it often causes communication problems for non-native speakers who may not have seen/heard this common term before. In simple terms, ‘whereabouts’ means ‘where exactly’? That is, the speaker wants a more detailed description of where a place is: Where are you from? – I’m from the UK. Whereabouts? – I’m from Leeds, Whereabouts is that? – It’s in the north-east of England, about an hour away from Manchester. Whereabouts in Leeds do you live? – I live in Headingley. Ah, whereabouts is that? – It’s a suburb about 2 miles north-west of Leeds city centre.” It’s useful for phonecalls when you’re trying to locate a person’s whereabouts: Where are you? – I’m in the supermarket. Whereabouts? – I’m in the cereals aisle. I’ll wait for you here! Try it out next time you want to know where someone or something is!