by-product
Americannoun
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a secondary or incidental product, as in a process of manufacture.
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the result of another action, often unforeseen or unintended.
noun
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a secondary or incidental product of a manufacturing process
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a side effect
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of by-product
First recorded in 1900–05
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:
A key raw material for many of these plastic goods is ethylene, which is derived from naphtha, an oil by-product.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
The Fed was moving to counter that slowdown, with any lift to stocks a by-product.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
It is a by-product of their success as only the promotion bonuses have caused it.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Through it all, however, West struggled with depression and a sense of self-loathing, and had trouble with intimacy, much of it a by-product of a hardscrabble childhood in West Virginia with a domineering father.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026
The modern idea of laws of nature is a by-product of Descartes’ philosophy, for Descartes was the first person to treat the laws of nature as being what knowledge of nature was all about.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Countries have been wrestling with what to do with dangerous nuclear by-products since the first plants were built in the 1950s.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
She also expects MMG’s copper-production costs to fall thanks to higher prices for its by-products and lower copper-concentrate treatment charges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
This metabolism creates toxic by-products called formaldehyde, formate and formic acid.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2024
Fear and suspicion are, of course, common by-products of war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2024
Some of these are normal by-products of metabolism, which the liver swiftly and efficiently makes harmless by withdrawing their nitrogen.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
