beside

American  

[bih-sahyd] / bɪˈsaɪd /

preposition

1. by or at the side of; near.

   Sit down beside me.

2. compared with.

   Beside him other writers seem amateurish.

3. apart from; not connected with.

   beside the point; beside the question.

4. besides.

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adverb

1. along the side of something.

   The family rode in the carriage, and the dog ran along beside.

2. besides.

idioms

1. beside oneself, almost out of one's senses from a strong emotion, as from joy, delight, anger, fear, or grief.

   He was beside himself with rage when the train left without him.

beside British  

/ bɪˈsaɪd /

preposition

1. next to; at, by, or to the side of

2. as compared with

3. away from; wide of

   beside the point

4. archaic besides

5. overwhelmed; overwrought

   beside oneself with grief

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adverb

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

Commonly Confused

For the prepositional meanings “over and above, in addition to” and “except” besides is preferred, especially in edited writing: Besides these honors he received a sum of money. We heard no other sound besides the breaking surf. However, beside sometimes occurs with these meanings as well.

Etymology

Origin of beside

before 1000; Middle English; earlier bi-siden, Old English bī sīdan, be sīdan; see be-, side ¹

Example Sentences

Sitting beside him was Rachael Schultz, 35, who had to ask strangers on bicycles for directions.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

Gaze over the rim of your glass to notice Jeff Koons and Ed Ruscha talking closely beside the DJ booth.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

“We are a little bit beside ourselves,” said John Yep, the CEO of Catholics for Catholics, a nonprofit group that has hosted faith events at Mar-a-Lago.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026

There are vitrines throughout, filled with fine jewelry, asteroid chunks and a brontosaurus tooth; some of them have drink rails, where a martini can rest beside an artifact that’s hundreds of millions of years old.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

She hopped over the fence and took up a place beside him.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman