by-product

[ bahy-prod-uhkt ]

/ ˈbaɪˌprɒd əkt /

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See synonyms for by-product on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

the result of another action, often unforeseen or unintended.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of by-product

First recorded in 1900–05

Words nearby by-product

bypass ratio, bypast, by-path, by-play, by-plot, by-product, Byrd, Byrd Land, Byrd, Richard E., Byrds, byre

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use by-product in a sentence

What if violence against women is not a by-product of war, but rather a major cause of it?
The Hidden Link Between Women and War|Leith Greenslade|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Like dead wrestlers, this is a natural by-product of the sport itself.
The MMA Fighters Have Gone Crazy: ‘Mayhem’ Miller the Latest in a Long Line of Psycho Pugilists|Robert Silverman|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The proliferation of zany burger toppings came next as an inevitable by-product of the high-end burger fad.
Have We Reached ‘Peak Burger’? The Crazy Fetishization of Our Most Basic Comfort Food|Brandon Presser|July 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But those long wait times are not necessarily a by-product of their single-payer system.
Fact-Checking Suzanne Somers’s Claim That Obamacare is a Socialist Ponzi Scheme|Brandy Zadrozny|October 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The by-product of a choice to live in public; to put your information online.
The Internet Shouldn’t Own You|Eric Klinker|October 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The carbonic acid used is (p. 142) a by-product, hitherto wasted, from the fermenting tuns of breweries.
Yachting Vol. 2|Various.
This negative, this suppressing character of attention is not a chance by-product, it is most essential.
Psychotherapy|Hugo Mnsterberg
It seems to be a by-product of the Gospel that nobody wants to contribute to the maintenance of the Gospel ministry.
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians|Martin Luther
Curiously enough, it came as an unexpected by-product of a further experiment in protection, the Payne-Aldrich tariff.
The Canadian Dominion|Oscar D. Skelton
For some reason altogether beyond our conception—and man may have been a mere accident, a by-product evolved in the process.
The Poison Belt|Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for by-product

by-product

noun

a secondary or incidental product of a manufacturing process

a side effect

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for by-product

by-product

[ bī′prŏd′əkt ]

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.

by-product

Origin of by-product

Words nearby by-product

Words related to by-product

How to use by-product in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for by-product

Scientific definitions for by-product