beside

[bih-sahyd]

preposition

1. by or at the side of; near.

   Sit down beside me.

2. compared with.

   Beside him other writers seem amateurish.

3. apart from; not connected with.

   beside the point; beside the question.

4. besides.

adverb

1. along the side of something.

   The family rode in the carriage, and the dog ran along beside.

2. besides.

beside

/ bɪˈsaɪd /

preposition

1. next to; at, by, or to the side of

2. as compared with

3. away from; wide of

   beside the point

4. archaic,  besides

5. overwhelmed; overwrought

   beside oneself with grief

adverb

1. at, by, to, or along the side of something or someone

Confusables Note

For the prepositional meanings “over and above, in addition to” and “except” besides is preferred, especially in edited writing: Besides these honors he received a sum of money. We heard no other sound besides the breaking surf. However, beside sometimes occurs with these meanings as well.

Word History and Origins

Origin of beside¹

before 1000; Middle English; earlier bi-siden, Old English bī sīdan, be sīdan; be-, side ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of beside¹

Old English be sīdan ; see _by , _side

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. beside oneself, almost out of one's senses from a strong emotion, as from joy, delight, anger, fear, or grief.

   He was beside himself with rage when the train left without him.

Example Sentences

I did that job, covering the South, for almost five years—much of it by minivan, with my wife beside me and two then-young children in the back seat.

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Waldman wants to stand the structure back up and maybe build a park beside his storage facility, with benches.

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They’ll shake their heads as you stand at the top of a ramp talking yourself into dropping in—you got this, you can do this, you’re three feet off the ground!—then pop up beside you and drop in like it’s nothing.

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Israeli authorities told the family they believed Haimi’s body, along with others who died beside him, was taken into Gaza.

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One way to embrace the moment is to invest beside the best investors.

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