besides

American

[bih-sahydz] / bɪˈsaɪdz /

adverb

moreover; furthermore; also.

Besides, I promised her we would come.

Synonyms:

further
in addition.

There are three elm trees and two maples besides.
otherwise; else.

They had a roof over their heads but not much besides.

preposition

over and above; in addition to.

Besides a mother he has a sister to support.
other than; except.

There's no one here besides Bill and me.

besides British

/ bɪˈsaɪdz /

preposition

apart from; even considering

besides costing too much, the scheme is impractical

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

anyway; moreover

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

as well

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Commonly Confused

See beside.

Synonym Usage

Besides, moreover both indicate something additional to what has already been stated. Besides often suggests that the addition is in the nature of an afterthought: The bill cannot be paid as yet; besides, the work is not completed. Moreover is more formal and implies that the addition is something particular, emphatic, or important: I did not like the house; moreover, it was too high-priced.

Etymology

Origin of besides

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; see origin at beside, -s ¹

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.

See Examples For:

besides

And besides, growing up means owning a home.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

When the market gets scary, these questions give you something to lean on besides your gut.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

For the day ahead, the macro calendar is light besides weekly U.S. jobless claims.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Despite that, Kenya's health ministry says nearly 5,000 healthcare workers have been trained to deal with Ebola at the national and local levels, besides the facilities that have been designated to handle the virus.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

It was her second favorite subject, besides how smart Alice was, and how pretty, and how talented, and how it would all go to waste if Gladys Herdman bit her to death.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023