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Definitions
- 1 Out of the way, off to one side. not-comparable
"a by path; a by room"
- 2 Subsidiary, incidental. not-comparable
"by catch; a by issue"
- 1 Along a path which runs past someone or something. not-comparable
"I watched the parade as it passed by."
- 2 In the vicinity, near. not-comparable
"There was a shepherd close by."
- 3 To or at a place, as a residence or place of business. not-comparable
"I'll stop by on my way home from work."
- 4 Aside, away. not-comparable
"The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring."
- 5 Beyond or past a certain point. not-comparable
"I'll somehow manage to get by."
- 1 in reserve; not for immediate use wordnet
- 2 so as to pass a given point wordnet
- 1 Dated form of bye (“goodbye”). alt-of, dated
- 1 The station code of Byculla railway station in India.
- 1 Alternative form of bye. alt-of, alternative
- 2 Abbreviation of attribution. abbreviation, alt-of, uncountable
- 1 Near or next to.
"The mailbox is by the bus stop."
- 2 From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.
"The stream runs by our back door."
- 3 Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval).
"Be back by ten o'clock!."
- 4 Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.; Following a passive verb.
"The matter was decided by the chairman."
- 5 Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.; Following a noun.
"There was a call by the unions for a 30% pay rise."
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.; Following an adjective.
"I was aghast by what I saw."
- 7 Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.
"There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare"
- 8 Indicates a means of achieving something: Involving/using the means of.
"I'd know you anywhere by your gravelly voice."
- 9 Indicates an authority according to which something is done.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife."
- 10 Indicates an authority according to which something is done.; Invokes an authority in an oath.
"By Jove! I think she's got it!"
- 11 Indicates a means of classification or organisation.
"I sorted the items by category."
- 12 Indicates the amount of change, difference or discrepancy
"Our stock is up by ten percent."
- 13 In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another.
"We went through the book page by page."
- 14 Acted on in units of the specified size or measure. (Sometimes hyperbolically)
"sold by the yard; cheaper if bought by the gross"
- 15 Per; with or in proportion to each.
"His health was deteriorating by the day."
- 16 Indicates a referenced source: According to.
"He cheated by his own admission."
- 17 Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.
"It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix."
- 18 multiplied by or (chiefly South Asia) divided by
- 19 Designates a horse's sire (“male parent”).
"She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress."
- 20 At, with, among
"Are you eating by Rabbi Fischer? (at the house of)"
- 21 in a windward direction, sailing near to the direction from which the wind is blowing
Etymology
From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi. Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).
From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi. Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).
From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi. Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).
From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi. Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).
From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi. Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).
From the preposition by.
See also for "by"
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