-
By (preposition)
Near or next to.
“The mailbox is by the bus stop.”
-
By (preposition)
At some time before (the given time), or before the end of a given time interval.
“Be back by ten o’clock!”
“We will send it by the first week of July.”
-
By (preposition)
Indicates the actor in a clause with its verb in the passive voice: Through the action or presence of.
“The matter was decided by the chairman.”
“The boat was swamped by the water.”
“He was protected by his body armour.”
-
By (preposition)
Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.
“There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare”
-
By (preposition)
Indicates the cause of a condition or event: Through the action of, caused by, responsibility for; by dint of.
-
By (preposition)
Indicates a means: Involving/using the means of.
“I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren’t looking.”
-
By (preposition)
Indicates a source of light used as illumination.
“The electricity was cut off, so we had to read by candlelight.”
-
By (preposition)
Indicates an authority, rule, or permission followed.
“I sorted the items by category.”
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.”
-
By (preposition)
Indicates the amount of some progression: With a change of.
“Our stock is up by ten percent.”
-
By (preposition)
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.”
-
By (preposition)
Indicates a referenced source: According to.
“He cheated by his own admission.”
-
By (preposition)
Indicates an oath: With the authority of.
“By Jove! I think she’s got it!”
“By all that is holy, I’ll put an end to this.”
-
By (preposition)
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.”
“The bricks used to build the wall measured 10 by 20 by 30 cm.”
-
By (preposition)
Designates a horse’s male parent (sire); cf. out of.
“She’s a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.”
-
By (adverb)
Along a path which runs by the speaker.
“I watched as it passed by.”
-
By (adverb)
In the vicinity, near.
“There was a shepherd close by.”
“The shop is hard by the High Street.”
-
By (adverb)
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.”
-
By (adverb)
Aside, away.
“The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.”
-
By (adjective)
Out of the way, subsidiary.
-
By (noun)
A pass
-
By (interjection)
alternative spelling of bye
-
With (preposition)
Against.
“He picked a fight with the class bully.”
-
With (preposition)
In the company of; alongside, close to; near to.
“He went with his friends.”
-
With (preposition)
In addition to; as an accessory to.
“She owns a motorcycle with a sidecar.”
-
With (preposition)
Used to indicate simultaneous happening, or immediate succession or consequence.
-
With (preposition)
In support of.
“We are with you all the way.”
-
With (preposition)
To denote the accomplishment of cause, means, instrument, etc; – sometimes equivalent to by.
“slain with robbers”
-
With (preposition)
Using as an instrument; by means of.
“cut with a knife”
-
With (preposition)
Using as nourishment; more recently replaced by on.
-
With (preposition)
Having, owning.
-
With (adverb)
Along, together with others, in a group, etc.
“Do you want to come with?”
-
By (preposition)
identifying the agent performing an action.
-
By (preposition)
after a passive verb
“damage caused by fire”
“the door was opened by my cousin Annie”
-
By (preposition)
after a noun denoting an action
“years of hard fund-raising work by local people”
“a clear decision by the electorate”
-
By (preposition)
identifying the author of a text, idea, or work of art
“a book by Ernest Hemingway”
-
By (preposition)
indicating the means of achieving something
“they substantiate their opinions by the use of precise textual reference”
“they plan to provide further working capital by means of borrowing”
“malaria can be controlled by attacking the parasite”
-
By (preposition)
indicating a term to which an interpretation is to be assigned
“what is meant by ‘fair’?”
-
By (preposition)
indicating a name according to which a person is known
“she mostly calls me by my last name”
-
By (preposition)
indicating the means of transport selected for a journey
“the cost of travelling by bus”
“I travelled to Folkestone by rail”
-
By (preposition)
indicating the other parent of someone’s child or children
“Richard is his son by his third wife”
-
By (preposition)
indicating the sire of a pedigree animal, especially a horse
“a black filly by Goldfuerst”
-
By (preposition)
(followed by a noun without a determiner) in various phrases indicating how something happens
“I heard by chance that she has married again”
“she ate by candlelight”
“Anderson, by contrast, rejects this view”
-
By (preposition)
indicating the amount or size of a margin
“the raising of VAT by 2.5%”
“the shot missed her by miles”
-
By (preposition)
indicating a quantity or amount
“billing is by the minute”
“the drunken yobbos who turned up by the cartload”
-
By (preposition)
in phrases indicating something happening repeatedly or progressively, typically with repetition of a unit of time
“colours changing minute by minute”
“the risk becomes worse by the day”
-
By (preposition)
identifying a parameter
“a breakdown of employment figures by age and occupation”
-
By (preposition)
expressing multiplication, especially in dimensions
“she multiplied it by 89”
“a map measuring 400 by 600 mm”
-
By (preposition)
indicating a deadline or the end of a particular time period
“by now Kelly needed extensive physiotherapy”
“I’ve got to do this report by Monday”
-
By (preposition)
indicating location of a physical object beside a place or object
“remains were discovered by the roadside”
“the pram was by the dresser”
-
By (preposition)
past and beyond
“I drove by our house”
-
By (preposition)
indicating the period in which something happens
“this animal always hunts by night”
-
By (preposition)
concerning; according to
“she had done her duty by him”
“anything you do is all right by me”
-
By (preposition)
used in mild oaths
“it was the least he could do, by God”
“I swear by Almighty God”
-
By (adverb)
so as to go past
“a car flashed by on the other side of the road”
“he let only a moment go by”
-
By (noun)
variant spelling of bye
-
With (preposition)
accompanied by (another person or thing)
“a nice steak with a bottle of red wine”
-
With (preposition)
having or possessing (something)
“a flower-sprigged blouse with a white collar”
-
With (preposition)
wearing or carrying
“a small man with thick glasses”
-
With (preposition)
indicating the instrument used to perform an action
“cut the fish with a knife”
“treatment with acid before analysis”
-
With (preposition)
indicating the material used for a purpose
“fill the bowl with water”
-
With (preposition)
in opposition to
“a row broke out with another man”
-
With (preposition)
indicating the manner or attitude in which a person does something
“the people shouted with pleasure”
-
With (preposition)
indicating responsibility
“leave it with me”
-
With (preposition)
in relation to
“my father will be angry with me”
-
With (preposition)
affected by (a particular fact or condition)
“he’s in bed with the flu”
-
With (preposition)
indicating the cause of (a condition)
“he was trembling with fear”
-
With (preposition)
because of (something) and as it happens
“wisdom comes with age”
-
With (preposition)
employed by
“she’s with the Inland Revenue now”
-
With (preposition)
using the services of
“I bank with the TSB”
-
With (preposition)
in the same direction as
“marine mammals generally swim with the current”
-
With (preposition)
indicating separation or removal from something
“to part with one’s dearest possessions”
“their jobs could be dispensed with”