beside

[bih-sahyd]

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.

adverb

1. along the side of something.

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

2. besides.

beside

/ 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

adverb

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

Confusables Note

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of beside¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of beside¹

Old English be sīdan ; see _by , _side

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

Beside Smart-McCabe’s planting hole is a raised plant bed, which the gardeners designated as the “goth” bed with dark plants only.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

While exploring the Lepini Mountains in central Italy, an area once logged for its old-growth beech trees, Andrea spotted a beetle resting on a cut log beside abandoned machinery.

Read more on BBC

A brown hyena standing beside the ruins of an abandoned diamond mining settlement has earned wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

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Her organisation recently carried out a mission to the Bulgaria-Turkey border, where NGOs have documented cases of animals trapped for days or weeks, bringing back footage of bloodied livestock and cows giving birth beside trucks.

Read more on Barron's

Beside him was his sister, Ibtisam, crying.

Read more on Los Angeles Times