Does "like" mean "about" in spoken Engli

One of my friends wrote such a sentence: I've watched this film like three or four times.
I pointed out that here she could not use "like",but should use "about" or "approximately".She told me that in spoken English,people sometimes prefer to say "like" but not "about".I looked up this word in the dictionary and didn't find that "like" has such a meaning.
So would someone tell me whether "like three or four time" is right?
Thanks.

SJF, what your friend told you was correct. In spoken English, especially American English, you'll hear that a lot. Let me give you some example.

I've been to, like, France and Spain. You know, Europe. And they're, like, so cool. I love, like, travelling and stuff.

Above is my spoken American English. I don't talk like that in real life, because it sounds silly. But I could if I want to. You see, there's no need for the word 'like' at all. But it's there.

Your friend's sentence could also be "I've watched this film three or four times" and it still means the same.

'Like' in this case doesn't really mean anything. It's just something we say.

I hope I got my message across.

I would say it does mean something. It means that you saw it around 3 or 4 times, about 3 or 4 times, approximately 3 or 4 times, etc. It's common for people to use "like" this way as well. Another use of "like" which is not just filler is "He was like '[quote]'," where "like" is used to introduce a quote.

<<I would say it does mean something.>>

I would agree.

"I've watched this film like three or four times" is a corruption or shortening of "I've watched this film like [I might have watched it / I had watched it] three or four times" --but the portion in the brackets is now inferred.

"I've been to, like, France and Spain" is short for "I've been to [places], like, France and Spain".

In the above prase, the poster is correct in that this use of 'like' is oftentimes used as a filler word, and suggests that the one speaking needs to pause a moment to arrange his/her thoughts before continuing.

'Like' is a spoken feature which often functions as a 'filler' (similar to 'you know' in British English). It does not convey the meaning of 'about'. It can sometimes precede examples, or it can give the idea expressed by 'possibly' or 'perhaps'.
It's probably a habit that learners should not try to develop - it can sound a bit daft when used by non-native speakers.

It is *like* five feet away.
It is *as if it were* five feet away.
It is *about* five feet away.

Correct. "Like" here, although close in meaning to a substitutionary "about" doesn't implicitly mean the same thing. It changes slightly.

It's about five o'clock.
It's like five o'clock.

hmmm. but very close.

Now that I think about it, "like" conveys a sense of uncertainty about what it precedes, not that what it precedes is close but not necessarily exact, which is the meaning of "about".

This exists in other languages as well. In German they say "zwar" (Sounds like "tsva") and Russians say "tak". I am sure others can provide similar examples.