by1

[bahy] /baɪ/
preposition
1.
near to or next to:
a home by a lake.
2.
over the surface of, through the medium of, along, or using as a route:
He came by the highway. She arrived by air.
3.
on, as a means of conveyance:
They arrived by ship.
4.
to and beyond the vicinity of; past:
He went by the church.
5.
within the extent or period of; during:
by day; by night.
6.
not later than; at or before:
I usually finish work by five o'clock.
7.
to the extent or amount of:
The new tug is larger than the old one by a great deal. He's taller than his sister by three inches.
8.
from the opinion, evidence, or authority of:
By his own account he was in Chicago at the time. I know him by sight.
9.
according to; in conformity with:
This is a bad movie by any standards.
10.
with (something) at stake; on:
to swear by all that is sacred.
11.
through the agency, efficacy, work, participation, or authority of:
The book was published by Random House.
12.
from the hand, mind, invention, or creativity of:
She read a poem by Emily Dickinson. The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison.
13.
in consequence, as a result, or on the basis of:
We met by chance. We won the game by forfeit.
14.
accompanied with or in the atmosphere of:
Lovers walk by moonlight.
15.
in treatment or support of; for:
He did well by his children.
16.
after; next after, as of the same items in a series:
piece by piece; little by little.
17.
(in multiplication) taken the number of times as that specified by the second number, or multiplier:
Multiply 18 by 57.
18.
(in measuring shapes) having an adjoining side of, as a width relative to a length:
a room 10 feet by 12 feet.
19.
(in division) separated into the number of equal parts as that specified by the second number, or divisor:
Divide 99 by 33.
20.
in terms or amounts of; in measuring units of:
Apples are sold by the bushel. I'm paid by the week.
21.
begot or born of:
Eve had two sons by Adam.
22.
(of quadrupeds) having as a sire:
Equipoise II by Equipoise.
23.
Navigation. (as used in the names of the 16 smallest points on the compass) one point toward the east, west, north, or south of N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, or NW, respectively:
He sailed NE by N from Pago Pago.
24.
into, at, or to:
Come by my office this afternoon.
adverb
25.
near; in the immediate vicinity; at hand:
The school is close by.
26.
to and beyond a point near something; past:
The car drove by.
27.
aside; away:
Put your work by for the moment. Over the years, she laid by enough money to retire.
28.
over; past:
in times gone by.
29.
by me.
  1. (in bridge and other bidding card games) a declaration that the speaker is passing.
  2. (in poker) a declaration that the speaker is checking:
    Is my pair of tens still high? By me.
adjective, Also, bye
30.
situated to one side:
They came down a by passage.
31.
secondary, incidental:
It was only a by comment.
noun, plural byes.
32.
bye1 .
Idioms
33.
by and by, in a short time; before long; presently:
The clouds will disappear by and by.
34.
by and large, in general; on the whole:
By and large, there is much to be said for the new system.
35.
by the by. bye1 (def 6).
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English bī; cognate with Dutch bij, Old High German bī (German bei), Gothic bi. See be-
Synonyms
11. By, through, with indicate agency or means of getting something done or accomplished. By is regularly used to denote the agent (person or force) in passive constructions: It is done by many; destroyed by fire. It also indicates means: Send it by airmail. With denotes the instrument (usually consciously) employed by an agent: He cut it with the scissors. Through designates particularly immediate agency or instrumentality or reason or motive: through outside aid; to yield through fear; wounded through carelessness.

by2

[bahy] /baɪ/
interjection
1.
good-bye:
By now, come again sometime!
Also, bye.
Origin
by shortening

by-

1.
a combining form of by1 :
by-product; bystander; byway.
Also, bye-.
Examples from the web for by
  • The risk of snagging on things in dark water, or being taken hold of by.
  • He keeps to himself on the train, and is literally counting the seconds that go by.
British Dictionary definitions for by

by1

/baɪ/
preposition
1.
used to indicate the agent after a passive verb: seeds eaten by the birds
2.
used to indicate the person responsible for a creative work: this song is by Schubert
3.
via; through: enter by the back door
4.
followed by a gerund to indicate a means used: he frightened her by hiding behind the door
5.
beside; next to; near: a tree by the house
6.
passing the position of; past: he drove by the old cottage
7.
not later than; before: return the books by Tuesday
8.
used to indicate extent, after a comparative: it is hotter by five degrees than it was yesterday
9.
(esp in oaths) invoking the name of: I swear by all the gods
10.
multiplied by: four by three equals twelve
11.
(in habitual sentences) during the passing of (esp in the phrases by day, by night)
12.
placed between measurements of the various dimensions of something: a plank fourteen inches by seven
adverb
13.
near: the house is close by
14.
away; aside: he put some money by each week for savings
15.
passing a point near something; past: he drove by
16.
(Scot) past; over and done with: that's a' by now
17.
(Scot) aside; behind one: you must put that by you
noun (pl) byes
18.
a variant spelling of bye1
Word Origin
Old English bī; related to Gothic bi, Old High German bī, Sanskrit abhi to, towards

by2

abbreviation
1.
Belarus

by-

prefix
1.
near: bystander
2.
secondary or incidental: by-effect, by-election, by-path, by-product
Word Origin
from by
Word Origin and History for by
prep.

Old English be- (unstressed) or bi (stressed) "near, in, by, during, about," from Proto-Germanic *bi "around, about" (cf. Old Saxon and Old Frisian bi "by near," Middle Dutch bie, Dutch bij, German bei "by, at, near," Gothic bi "about"), from *umbi (cognate with second element in PIE *ambhi "around," cf. Sanskrit abhi "toward, to," Greek amphi- "around, about;" see ambi-).

Originally an adverbial particle of place, in which sense it is retained in place names (Whitby, Grimsby, etc.). Elliptical use for "secondary course" (opposed to main; e.g. byway, also cf. by-blow "illegitimate child," 1590s) was in Old English. This also is the sense of the second by in the phrase by the by (1610s). By the way literally means "in passing by" (mid-14c.); used figuratively to introduce a tangential observation by 1540s.

Phrase by and by (early 14c.) originally meant "one by one," modern sense is from 1520s. By and large (1660s) originally was nautical, "sailing to the wind and off it," hence "in one direction then another."

Slang definitions & phrases for by

by

preposition
  1. With; as far as concerns: Five skins is jake by me
  2. At; to; at the place of: I'll buy you a drink by Antek
Related Terms

get away with something, get by

[1920s+; fr direct transcription of Yiddish prepositional use into English]


by in Technology

networking
The country code for Belarus.
(1999-01-27)

Related Abbreviations for by

BY

budget year
by in the Bible

in the expression "by myself" (A.V., 1 Cor. 4:4), means, as rendered in the Revised Version, "against myself."