alongside

American  

[uh-lawng-sahyd, uh-long-] / əˈlɔŋˈsaɪd, əˈlɒŋ- /

adverb

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

   We brought the boat alongside.

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preposition

1. beside; by the side of.

   The dog ran alongside me all the way.

2. Informal. alongside of, compared with.

   Alongside of his brother, he is no student at all.

alongside British  

/ əˈlɒŋˌsaɪd /

preposition

1. (often foll by of) along the side of; along beside

   alongside the quay

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adverb

1. along the side of some specified thing

   come alongside

Etymology

Origin of alongside

First recorded in 1700–10; along + side ¹

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

Only adding to the pain, Hertz disclosed plans for a $100 million public stock offering alongside a concurrent $300 million offering of payment-in-kind notes.

From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026

But Scotland are in one of the tournament's toughest groups - alongside Morocco and Brazil - and may have to rely on being one of the best third-placed sides to progress.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

Broadcom designs custom chips, known as application-specific integrated circuits, alongside its customers.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026

Sarris grew up in a white family in Santa Rosa alongside three siblings.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2026

Often, a second figure materialized alongside Estelle, once so suddenly, that Kate reportedly “cried out in fear.”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock