by-product

[bahy-prod-uhkt]

noun

1. a secondary or incidental product, as in a process of manufacture.

2. the result of another action, often unforeseen or unintended.

by-product

noun

1. a secondary or incidental product of a manufacturing process

2. a side effect

by-product

1. Something produced in the process of making something else. When plants produce carbohydrates by photosynthesis, oxygen is released as a by-product. Asphalt and paraffin are by-products of the process of refining crude oil into gasoline.

Word History and Origins

Origin of by-product¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Related Words

• outgrowth