besides

American  

[bih-sahydz] / bɪˈsaɪdz /

adverb

1. moreover; furthermore; also.

   Besides, I promised her we would come.

   Synonyms:

   further

2. in addition.

   There are three elm trees and two maples besides.

3. otherwise; else.

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

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preposition

1. over and above; in addition to.

   Besides a mother he has a sister to support.

2. other than; except.

   There's no one here besides Bill and me.

besides British  

/ bɪˈsaɪdz /

preposition

1. apart from; even considering

   besides costing too much, the scheme is impractical

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1. anyway; moreover

adverb

1. as well

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

Dario Perkins, an economist at TS Lombard, says the bulls are premature in claiming they have won the AI capital-expenditure debate, and, besides, two looming factors suggest a market pullback is likely.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026

"Then you have to prop it up with junior artistes, which is an additional expenditure besides catering, electricity, vanity vans and bouncers."

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

You can drop off a ballot for someone besides yourself as long as you’ve been authorized to do so and you’re not getting paid on a per-ballot basis, according to the secretary of state.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026

Yet when the 1896 presidential election pitted the soft-money populist, William Jennings Bryan, against William McKinley, the hard-money Republican, McKinley won the electoral majority, 271 to 176, and the popular vote, 51% to 46.7%, besides.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

“That was for last night. You have to give me something for tonight, and besides, I’m making you a mountain of pure gold,” I said impatiently.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff