Thereby

//ðɛɹˈbaɪ// adv

adv ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    By it; by that; by that means, or as a consequence of that. formal, not-comparable

    "I enrolled in Old English classes and thereby learned much about Germanic languages."

Adverb
  1. 1
    by that means or because of that wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
byby dint ofby means ofby use ofby virtue ofby way of

Example

More examples

"Everyone can make a difference in their own lives and thereby collectively make the world a better place for themselves and others around them."

Etymology

From Middle English therby, from Old English ðǣrbig, equivalent to there + by. Compare the parallel formation of German dabei.

Related phrases

thereby hangs a tale

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.