by

by [bī]

prep.

[ME by, bi, be < OE be (unstressed), bi (stressed) < Gmc * bi, around, about, akin to Gr amphi, L ambi: see BY-, BE; orig. adv. of place, meaning “beside, near,” but already highly specialized prep. in OE]

1. near in space; beside; at [stand by the wall]

2.

a) in or during the time of [travel by night]

b) not later than [be back by ten o'clock]

3.

a) via; through, along, or over [driving home by the dirt road]

b) past; beyond [to march by the reviewing stand]

c) to or within a distance of [missed the putt by a foot]

4. toward [north by northwest]

5. in behalf of [he did well by his friends]

6. with respect to (a given category) [a lawyer by profession]

7.

a) through the means, work, or operations of [a trip by train, a pact reached by negotiation, made by craftsmen, poems (written) by Poe]

b) through the activity or effort of: used before gerunds [he won by practicing daily]

8. produced with (the other parent) [a son by my first husband]

9. following in series [marching two by two]

10.

a) with the authority or sanction of [by your leave]

b) according to; in a manner consistent with [playing by the rules]

c) in the name of: used in oaths [by all that's holy]

d) Informal in the opinion of [the plans are OK by me]

11.

a) in the amount of, or to the extent or degree of [apples by the peck]

b) at the rate or pace of [growing dark by degrees]

c) and in another dimension [two feet by four feet]

12. using (the given number) as multiplier or divisor

adv.

1. close at hand; near [stand by]

2. away; aside [we have put money by]

3. close in passing; past [the car sped by ]

☆ 4. at the place specified or understood [stop by on your way home]

adj., n.

alt. sp. of BYE

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by and by

1. Obs. immediately

2. after a short while; soon

3. sooner or later; eventually

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by and large

☆ on the whole; considering everything

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by oneself

1. alone; solitary

2. unaided

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by the by

incidentally