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

Against Croatia, as England passed the ball backwards, Declan Rice moved into a wide-left position vacating the centre of the pitch for Harry Kane to drop into alongside Elliot Anderson.

From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026

A little bit of consumer cheer alongside the AI exhilaration wouldn’t go amiss.

From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026

“You paid for my swim lessons, bought me my first baseball glove, and kept me in the best private school in South Florida, alongside President George H.W. Bush’s grandsons, at least for a little while.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026

McAfee founded a nonprofit, Raw Milk Institute, in 2011, broadcasting similar claims alongside studies he said support them.

From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026

They had decided to spend the weekend alongside the Green River.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone