by-product
Americannoun
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by-products
plural
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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:
The Fed was moving to counter that slowdown, with any lift to stocks a by-product.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
What may look like a fossil human tooth-picking groove could just as easily be the by-product of everyday chewing.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026
The government has provided funding to reactivate the Ensus bioethanol plant, which makes CO2 as a by-product, in order to shore up supplies of the gas.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
Lynas however, says its by-product from rare earth refining produces a non-toxic, non-radioactive magnesium-rich gypsum and an iron phosphate with a very low level of naturally occurring radioactive material.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
“Let’s take a look, shall we? Poultry by-product meal, soy protein isolate, corn gluten meal, soy flour...”
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
With the latest biotech tools, companies are taking by-products of the food industry, that are currently discarded or have little value, and using fermentation to turn them into something useful.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
The licence was issued as environmental watchdogs such as Greenpeace raised concerns over the management of radioactive by-products.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 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
Fear and suspicion are, of course, common by-products of war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2024
Such things are merely the by-products of their animal neighbors.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
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.
