alongside
Americanadverb
preposition
-
beside; by the side of.
The dog ran alongside me all the way.
-
Informal. alongside of, compared with.
Alongside of his brother, he is no student at all.
preposition
adverb
Etymology
Origin of alongside
Explanation
Use the adverb alongside when two things are right next to each other, like a boat and a dock or a hunter and her loyal dog. If you pull up alongside your friend's car in a parking lot, it means that you've parked directly beside it. Alongside can also imply cooperation, as when a baker's assistant works alongside him, kneading dough and wiping flour off the counter. Alongside was once a phrase, either "along side" or "along the side," both primarily used in a nautical sense, to talk about boats. In the 1700s it became a single word.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It has a special place alongside the cutting from the Sycamore Gap tree.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
He’ll also join the audit committee alongside board members and venture capitalists Randy Glein and Steve Jurvetson.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 17, 2026
Forging consensus is critical for any Fed chair: Warsh himself has just one vote on the committee, alongside 11 other officials with different backgrounds and views.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026
He will also feature alongside Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in the upcoming sequel to the witchy 1998 film “Practical Magic,” which is set for release Sept. 11.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026
Gelifen couldn’t yet fly alongside her, so she tucked him into her jumper, his beaked face protruding from the blue wool at the top.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
