What does "side" mean?
A bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape.
Side
/saɪd/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape.
- Grammar: side is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: face, actor, adjoin, advocate.
- Useful contrasts: bottom, top, adversaries.
- Usage evidence: You're by my side; everything's fine now.
How to use "side"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "side" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "side" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "side" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "side" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "side" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "face" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "side", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape. countable, uncountable
"A square has four sides."
- 2 an extended outer surface of an object wordnet
- 3 A flat surface of a three-dimensional object; a face. countable, uncountable
"A cube has six sides."
- 4 either the left or right half of a body wordnet
- 5 One half (left or right, top or bottom, front or back, etc.) of something or someone. countable, uncountable
"Which side of the tray shall I put it on? The patient was bleeding on the right side."
Show 28 more definitions
- 6 an aspect of something (as contrasted with some other implied aspect) wordnet
- 7 A region in a specified position with respect to something. countable, uncountable
"Meet me on the north side of the monument."
- 8 an opinion that is held in opposition to another in an argument or dispute wordnet
- 9 The portion of the human torso usually covered by the arms when they are not raised; the areas on the left and right between the belly or chest and the back. countable, uncountable
"Meronyms: flank, loin; latus, lumbus"
- 10 (sports) the spin given to a ball by striking it on one side or releasing it with a sharp twist wordnet
- 11 One surface of a sheet of paper (used instead of "page", which can mean one or both surfaces.) countable, uncountable
"John wrote 15 sides for his essay!"
- 12 a lengthwise dressed half of an animal's carcass used for food wordnet
- 13 One possible aspect of a concept, person, or thing. countable, uncountable
"Look on the bright side."
- 14 a family line of descent wordnet
- 15 One set of competitors in a game. countable, uncountable
"Which side has kick-off?"
- 16 one of two or more contesting groups wordnet
- 17 A sports team. Australia, Ireland, UK, countable, uncountable
"Newly promoted, they were top of the First Division and unbeaten when they took on a Manchester United side that had been revitalized by a new manager,[…]."
- 18 a surface forming part of the outside of an object wordnet
- 19 A group of morris dancers who perform together. countable, uncountable
- 20 a line segment forming part of the perimeter of a plane figure wordnet
- 21 A group having a particular allegiance in a conflict or competition. countable, uncountable
"there are two sides to every question"
- 22 a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location wordnet
- 23 A recorded piece of music; a record, especially in jazz. countable, uncountable
"But Bechet chafed under even the loose discipline of the Ellington group, and left. Through these years he wandered, making only a few sides, at the moment when jazz records were beginning to flood onto the market."
- 24 an elevated geological formation wordnet
- 25 Sidespin; english countable, uncountable
"He had to put a bit of side on to hit the pink ball."
- 26 A television channel, usually as opposed to the one currently being watched (from when there were only two channels). Australia, British, Ireland, countable, dated, uncountable
"I just want to see what's on the other side — James said there was a good film on tonight."
- 27 A dish that accompanies the main course; a side dish. Canada, Philippines, US, colloquial, countable, uncountable
"Do you want a side of cole-slaw with that?"
- 28 A line of descent traced through a particular relative, usually a parent or spouse, as distinguished from that traced through another. countable, uncountable
"his mother's side of the family"
- 29 The batters faced in an inning by a particular pitcher. countable, uncountable
"Clayton Kershaw struck out the side in the 6th inning."
- 30 An unjustified air of self-importance; a conceited attitude. dated, slang, uncountable
"Indeed, Yeere was rapidly beginning to forget what he had been. One of his own rank and file put the matter brutally when he asked Yeere, in reference to nothing, “And who has been making you a Member of Council, lately? You carry the side of half a dozen of ’em.”"
- 31 A written monologue or part of a scene to be read by an actor at an audition. countable, uncountable
"Some directors use full scripts (book); others use “sides,” which consist of one or two words of the cue and the subsequent full speech of the individual actor."
- 32 A man who prefers not to engage in anal sex during same-sex sexual activity. countable, slang, uncountable
"My boyfriend and I are both sides; we prefer to do oral and other stuff."
- 33 A root. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"And 9 is said to be the Square, 27 the Cube of 3, which is call'd the Side of 9 and 27, &c."
Verb
- 1 To ally oneself, be in an alliance, usually with "with" or rarely "in with" intransitive
"Which will you side with, good or evil?"
- 2 To clear, tidy or sort.
"Meanwhile I have plenty to employ me, in siding drawers and locked places, which I left in the disgracefullest confusion ;"
- 3 take sides for or against wordnet
- 4 To lean on one side.
- 5 To be or stand at the side of; to be on the side toward. obsolete, transitive
"His blind eye that syded Paridell."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To suit; to pair; to match. obsolete, transitive
"1660-1667, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, The Life of Edward Earl of Clarendon He had ure read more , and carried more about him , in his excellent Memory , than any Man I ever knew , my Lord Falkland only excepted , who I think ided him"
- 7 To work (a timber or rib) to a certain thickness by trimming the sides. transitive
- 8 To furnish with a siding. transitive
"to side a house"
- 9 To provide with, as a side or accompaniment. transitive
"Entrees are sided with a generous portion of vegetables, and some include little surprises […]"
Adjective
- 1 Being on the left or right, or toward the left or right; lateral.
"One mighty squadron with a side wind sped."
- 2 Wide; large; long, pendulous, hanging low, trailing; far-reaching. Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
"But when he perceaved that the sayd Pryest could not pourge himself of the foresayd crime he prively payed him his quarters wages before hande and suffered hym to departe without farther tryall of the sayd cryme: and now he jetteth in london wyth side gown and sarcenet typet as good a virgin priest as the best."
- 3 Indirect; oblique; incidental.
"a side issue; a side view or remark"
- 4 Far; distant. Scotland
Adjective
- 1 located on a side wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Widely; wide; far. UK, dialectal
Proper Noun
- 1 An ancient city, archaeological site, and modern town in modern Antalya Province, Turkey, on a small peninsula on the Mediterranean coast of Anatolia, settled by Greeks from Cyme.
Antonyms
Example
"You're by my side; everything's fine now."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "side"?
Common synonyms include: face, actor, adjoin, advocate, affectation, affiliation.
How do you use "side" in a sentence?
You're by my side; everything's fine now.
How do you pronounce "side"?
Pronounced /saɪd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English side, from Old English sīde (“side, flank”), from Proto-Germanic *sīdǭ (“side, flank, edge, shore”), from Proto-Indo-European *sēy- (“to send, throw, drop, sow, deposit”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Siede (“side”), West Frisian side (“side”), Dutch zijde, zij (“side”), German Low German Sied (“side”), German Seite (“side”), Danish and Norwegian side (“side”), Swedish sida (“side”). The LGBTQ slang sense was coined by sex therapist and author Joe Kort in 2010 and popularized in 2013. The sense was coined by analogy with top and bottom and based on the metaphor of a box which has a top, bottom, and sides.
Etymology 2
From Middle English side, syde, syd, from Old English sīd (“wide, broad, spacious, ample, extensive, vast, far-reaching”), from Proto-West Germanic *sīd, from Proto-Germanic *sīdaz (“drooping, hanging, low, excessive, extra”), from Proto-Indo-European *sēy- (“to send, throw, drop, sow, deposit”). Cognate with obsolete Dutch zijd (“wide, vast”), Low German sied (“low”), Swedish sid (“long, hanging down”), Icelandic síður (“low hanging, long”).
Etymology 3
From Latin Side, from Ancient Greek Σίδη (Sídē).