Either commander took speedy advantage of it—Hopton to make a swift diversion into Sussex and capture Arundel Castle (which was but a by-blow, for in a few weeks he had lost it again).
Source: wiktionary
By-blow
//ˈbʌɪbləʊ//
Synonyms for "by-blow" (7 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (2)
Noun(1 words)
Strong matches (2)
Noun(2 words)
Related words (3)
Noun(3 words)
Related word relations
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Translations
4 translations across 1 languages.
Russian
4 entries- внебра́чный ребёнок noun (an illegitimate child)
- незаконноро́жденный ребёнок noun (an illegitimate child)
- случа́йный уда́р noun (a side or accidental blow)
- у́дар сбо́ку noun (a side or accidental blow)
Sample sentences
5 total sentences available.
As a by-blow in the course of his relentless campaigns against Louis, Willem gained the three thrones of Britain in 1699 – but what a by-blow this proved!
Source: wiktionary
‘Nay,’ said the landlady, ‘if I thought he was a gentleman's son, thof he was a bye-blow, I should behave to him in another guess manner; for many of these bye-blows come to be great men, and, as my poor first husband used to say, never affront any customer that's a gentleman.’
Source: wiktionary
c. 1892, Herman Melville, "Billy Budd, Foretopman" (novella), in Herman Melville: Selected Tales and Poems, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (1950), p. 298, Yes, Billy was a foundling, a presumable bye-blow, and, evidently, no ignoble one.
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 5 available sentences.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.