meaning of by
1. In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me.
2. On; along; in traversing. Compare 5.
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.
7. Near; in the neighborhood; present; as, there was no person by at the time.
8. Passing near; going past; past; beyond; as, the procession has gone by; a bird flew by.
9. Aside; as, to lay by; to put by.
10. 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.
11. in reserve; not for immediate use; "started setting aside money to buy a car"; "put something by for her old age"; "has a nestegg tucked away for a rainy
">day"
Related Words
by | by a long shot | by all means | by all odds | by and by | by and large | by any means | by artificial means | by chance | by choice | by design | by election | by experimentation | by far | by fits and starts | by hand | by heart | by hook or by crook | by inches | by luck | by machine | by memory | by mouth | by nature | by no means | by right of office | by rights | by selection | by small degrees | by the bye |