By

Definition of By

Pronunciation: bī
prep.1.In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me.
By foundation or by shady rivulet
He sought them both.
- Milton.
2.On; along; in traversing. Compare 5.
Long labors both by sea and land he bore.
- Dryden.
By land, by water, they renew the charge.
- Pope.
3.Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side of; past; as, to go by a church.
4.Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty feet by forty.
5.Against.
6.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.
By all means
most assuredly; without fail; certainly.
By and by
a - Close together (of place).
b - Immediately; at once.
- Chaucer.
c - Presently; pretty soon; before long.
- Matt. xiii. 21.
By one's self
with only one's self near; alone; solitary.
By the bye
See under Bye.
By the head
(Naut.) having the bows lower than the stern; - said of a vessel when her head is lower in the water than her stern. If her stern is lower, she is by the stern.
By the lee
the situation of a vessel, going free, when she has fallen off so much as to bring the wind round her stern, and to take her sails aback on the other side.
By the run
to let go by the run, to let go altogether, instead of slacking off.
By the way
by the bye; - used to introduce an incidental or secondary remark or subject.
Day by day
each day, each one, each piece, etc., by itself singly or separately; each severally.
To come by
to get possession of; to obtain.
To do by
to treat, to behave toward.
To set by
to value, to esteem.
To stand by
to aid, to support.
adv.1.Near; in the neighborhood; present; as, there was no person by at the time.
2.Passing near; going past; past; beyond; as, the procession has gone by; a bird flew by.
3.Aside; as, to lay by; to put by.
a.1.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.

Related Words

abeam, abreast, accommodated to, according to, adapted to, adieu, adjusted to, after, agreeable to, agreeably to, all through, along by, alongside, among, answerable to, around, as to, aside, back, by dint of, by means of, by use of, by virtue of, by way of, bye-bye, conformable to, congruent with, consistent with, farewell, good-bye, hereby, herewith, in, in accordance with, in agreement with, in compliance with, in conformity with, in correspondence to, in harmony with, in keeping with, in line with, in lock-step with, in obedience to, in reserve, in step with, in uniformity with, in virtue of, nearby, next to, nigh, on, over, passing by, passing through, per, proper to, round, round about, so long, suitable for, thanks to, thereby, therewith, to, toward, uniform with, upon, via, whereby, wherewith, wherewithal
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