Home UK English have been around

Meaning of have been around in English:

have been around

phrase

informal

  • Have a lot of varied experience and understanding of the world.

    • ‘look, I've been around, I know what happens with kids like you’
    • ‘They have lots of players with Premiership experience, and a coach who has been around.’
    • ‘The idea is not new, however, having been around for many years.’
    • ‘Annual festivals in cities like Edmonton, Ottawa and Halifax have been around for years.’
    • ‘These too have been around for years, and you can still catch them on any day in the mornings and early afternoons.’
    • ‘Gap years, sabbaticals, years off - call them what you will - have been around for a long time now.’
    astute, sharp-witted, sharp, acute, intelligent, clever, alert, canny, media-savvy, perceptive, perspicacious, observant, discriminating, sagacious, sage, wise, far-seeing, far-sighted