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:
At the $25 million transaction price in Capstone shares, Hutchison calculates that Capstone paid less than a cent per pound for the copper resources alone, excluding by-product credits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
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
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
Here, bodily damage is more or less considered to be a by-product of living, not a disgrace.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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
The company’s strong performance in by-products such as lead and zinc was driven by strong grades at its Fresnillo mine in Mexico, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
A spokesperson for Daera said: "Animal by-products are a potential source of risk to public and animal health. Farmers have a legal obligation to dispose of animals in a safe and sustainable manner."
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
Fear and suspicion are, of course, common by-products of war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2024
If I hadn’t failed that IQ test I wouldn’t be reduced to this ignominious task with its attendant emotional by-products.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
