besides

American  

[bih-sahydz] / bɪˈsaɪdz /

adverb

1. moreover; furthermore; also.

   Besides, I promised her we would come.

   Synonyms:

   further

2. in addition.

   There are three elm trees and two maples besides.

3. otherwise; else.

   They had a roof over their heads but not much besides.

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preposition

1. over and above; in addition to.

   Besides a mother he has a sister to support.

2. other than; except.

   There's no one here besides Bill and me.

besides British  

/ bɪˈsaɪdz /

preposition

1. apart from; even considering

   besides costing too much, the scheme is impractical

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1. anyway; moreover

adverb

1. as well

Commonly Confused

See beside.

Synonym Usage

Besides, moreover both indicate something additional to what has already been stated. Besides often suggests that the addition is in the nature of an afterthought: The bill cannot be paid as yet; besides, the work is not completed. Moreover is more formal and implies that the addition is something particular, emphatic, or important: I did not like the house; moreover, it was too high-priced.

Etymology

Origin of besides

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; see origin at beside, -s ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

besides

On a now-deleted “Team” page of its website, Nxum listed only one team member besides its three partners before Hines entered the White House: chief investment officer Nav Singh.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

What does Gillis have, besides a large audience of followers and a Netflix show, that others who’ve never hosted the show don’t?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Don Batie, 67, agrees: "There's a lot of other issues besides agriculture."

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

What else do you do for your clients besides investing their money?

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

“Did you see any other creatures besides the water butterflies?”

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

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