by
preposition
- through the means of
- near to
adverb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L333810 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /baɪ/
adj
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”).
- Out of the way, off to one side.
“a by path; a by room”
- Subsidiary, incidental.
“by catch; a by issue”
adv
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”).
- Along a path which runs past someone or something.
“I watched the parade as it passed by.”
- In the vicinity, near.
“There was a shepherd close by.”
“[The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]”
- To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.
“I'll stop by on my way home from work.”
“We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave.”
- Aside, away.
“The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.”
- Beyond or past a certain point.
“I'll somehow manage to get by.”
intj
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”).
- Dated form of bye (“goodbye”).
name
- The station code of Byculla railway station in India.
noun
Etymology: From the preposition by.
- Abbreviation of attribution.
prep
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”).
- Near or next to.
“The mailbox is by the bus stop.”
- From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.
“The stream runs by our back door.”
“He ran straight by me.”
- Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval); before.
“Be back by ten o'clock!”
“We'll find someone by the end of March.”
- After a given amount of time has elapsed or a given event has occurred.
“By February, we were all sick of the cold.”
“By the time I realized I had left my phone at home, I was already two blocks from work.”
- Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
“The matter was decided by the chairman.”
“The boat was swamped by the water.”
- Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
“There was a call by the unions for a 30% pay rise.”
- Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
“I was aghast by what I saw.”
“In other directions the fields and sky were so much of one colour by the snow that it was difficult in a hasty glance to tell whereabouts the horizon occurred […].”
- Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.
“There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare”
- Indicates a means of achieving something: Involving/using the means of.
“I'd know you anywhere by your gravelly voice.”
“I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking.”
- Indicates an authority according to which something is done.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.”
- Indicates an authority according to which something is done.
“By Jove! I think she's got it!”
“By all that is holy, I'll put an end to this.”
- Indicates a means of classification or organisation.
“I sorted the items by category.”
“Table 1 shows details of our employees broken down by sex and age.”
- Indicates the amount of change, difference or discrepancy
“Our stock is up by ten percent.”
“We won by six goals to three.”
- 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.”
“We crawled forward by inches.”
- [with the] Acted on in units of the specified size or measure. (Sometimes hyperbolically)
“sold by the yard; cheaper if bought by the gross”
“While sitting listening to the radio by the hour, she can drink brandy by the bucketful!”
- Per; with or in proportion to each.
“His health was deteriorating by the day.”
“The pickers are paid by the fortnight by the American bushel.”
- Indicates a referenced source: According to.
“He cheated by his own admission.”
“By my reckoning, we should be nearly there.”
- Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.
“It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix.”
“The room was about 4 foot by 6 foot.”
- multiplied by or (chiefly South Asia) divided by
- Designates a horse's sire (“male parent”).
“She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.”
- At; with; among.
“Are you eating by Rabbi Fischer? (at the house of)”
“By Chabad, it's different.”
- in a windward direction, sailing near to the direction from which the wind is blowing