By Definition

bī
preposition
Near in space; beside; at.
Stand by the wall.
Webster's New World
Close to; next to.
The window by the door.
American Heritage
With the use or help of; through.
We came by the back road.
American Heritage
In or during the time of.
Travel by night.
Webster's New World
Past; beyond.
To march by the reviewing stand.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
adverb
Close at hand; near.
Stand by.
Webster's New World
Away; aside.
We have put money by.
Webster's New World
Up to, alongside, and past.
The car raced by.
American Heritage
Close in passing; past.
The car sped by.
Webster's New World
At or to one's home or current location.
Stop by later today.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
abbreviation
Budget year.
American Heritage

The ccTLD for Belarus as assigned by the IANA.

Wiktionary
prefix
By.
Bygone.
American Heritage
Secondary, incidental.
Byway.
American Heritage
adjective

Bye.

Webster's New World
Out of the way, subsidiary.
Wiktionary
affix
Close by; near.
Bystander.
Webster's New World
Side.
Bystreet.
Webster's New World
On the side; secondary; incidental to the main.
Byproduct.
Webster's New World
noun

(card games) A pass.

Wiktionary
interjection

Alternative spelling of bye.

Wiktionary
symbol

The ISO 3166-1 two-letter (alpha-2) code for Belarus.

Wiktionary

Bavaria, a federal state of Germany.

Wiktionary
suffix

Habitation when used as a suffix to many placenames.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of By

Noun

Singular:
by
Plural:
bys

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to By

Origin of By

  • Middle English from Old English bī, be ambhi in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Old English bī (“being near”).

    From Wiktionary

  • From a Norse language

    From Wiktionary

Related Articles