- (a.) Out of the common path; aside; -- used in composition, giving the meaning of something aside, secondary or incidental or collateral matter, a thing private or avoiding notice; as, by-line, by-place, by-play, by-street. It was formerly more freely used in composition than it is now; as, by-business, by-concernment, by-design, by-interest, etc.
- (pref.) Against.
- (adv.) Aside; as, to lay by; to put by.
- (pref.) With, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take by force.
- (pref.) On; along; in traversing. Compare 5.
- (pref.) Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side of; past; as, to go by a church.
- (adv.) Near; in the neighborhood; present; as, there was no person by at the time.
- (adv.) Passing near; going past; past; beyond; as, the procession has gone by; a bird flew by.
- (pref.) Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty feet by forty.
- (pref.) In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). by. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/by/definitions/1983472 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "by" http://smartdefine.org/by/definitions/1983472 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, by, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/by/definitions/1983472>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "by" 27 May 2011. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/by/definitions/1983472> |