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.
Upon closing, Masimo is expected to operate as a standalone company within Danaher’s Diagnostics segment, alongside its other businesses Radiometer, Leica Biosystems, Cepheid and Beckman Coulter Diagnostics.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
A code blue was called, and suddenly her mother was racing alongside a patient’s bed.
From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026
Morales said she was proud to receive the Goldman prize, often described as the "Green Nobel," alongside five other activists.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
On Monday, the mayor appeared alongside Police Chief Jim McDonnell, offering new details on increased patrols.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026
It’s been hard for me to accept that I’ll never again get to work alongside him, crafting another canoe, or tackling his mounds of paperwork.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
