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.
When one of China's biggest stand-up comedians opened his show with a joke about the extraordinarily long rule of the country's leader Xi Jinping, it drew a cheer, alongside a smattering of approving profanities.
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
The remarks, made at a conference alongside foreign counterparts in Portugal, were Warsh’s first public appearance since his debut press conference at the Fed’s policy meeting last month.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
Their frantic energy would fit in right alongside Mack Sennett’s pie-throwers and the primitive animated shorts of Felix the Cat.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026
Shoesmith expects the auto sector to be top-of-mind in negotiations, alongside energy.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
Another gust of wind blows a scent of mint and cocoa past my nose—Ama must be here too, bound alongside me and Autumn.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
