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Question 1 of 7
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Idioms about by

Origin of by

First recorded before 900; Middle English bi, be, by, Old English bī, big, be; cognate with Dutch bij, Old High German bī, German bei, Gothic bi; see be-

synonym study for by

11. By, through, with indicate agency or means of getting something done or accomplished. By is regularly used to denote the agent (person or force) in passive constructions: It is done by many; destroyed by fire. It also indicates means: Send it by airmail. With denotes the instrument (usually consciously) employed by an agent: He cut it with the scissors. Through designates particularly immediate agency or instrumentality or reason or motive: through outside aid; to yield through fear; wounded through carelessness.

Other definitions for by (2 of 2)

by-

a combining form of by: by-product; bystander; byway.
Also bye-.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use by in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for by (1 of 3)

by1
/ (baɪ) /

preposition
adverb
noun plural byes
a variant spelling of bye 1

Word Origin for by

Old English bī; related to Gothic bi, Old High German , Sanskrit abhi to, towards

British Dictionary definitions for by (2 of 3)

by2

the internet domain name for
Belarus

British Dictionary definitions for by (3 of 3)

by-

bye-


prefix
nearbystander
secondary or incidentalby-effect; by-election; by-path; by-product

Word Origin for by-

from by
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
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