besides
Americanadverb
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.
preposition
adverb
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.
Yet many AI hyperscalers are “really high-quality companies” with other avenues besides AI that “will make their debt money good,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
More Koreans live there than in any city in the United States besides New York or Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Each smaller than a grain of rice, the sculptures pays tribute to Nobel Prize-winning physicist CV Raman and aerospace engineer and former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam, besides Sarabhai.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
While making EVs profitably remains difficult for most automakers besides Tesla, Ford Motor’s new truck is meant to compete with Chinese automakers on costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Did they say anything else besides this—this word?”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
