alongside
Americanadverb
preposition
-
beside; by the side of.
The dog ran alongside me all the way.
-
Informal. alongside of, compared with.
Alongside of his brother, he is no student at all.
preposition
adverb
Etymology
Origin of alongside
Explanation
Use the adverb alongside when two things are right next to each other, like a boat and a dock or a hunter and her loyal dog. If you pull up alongside your friend's car in a parking lot, it means that you've parked directly beside it. Alongside can also imply cooperation, as when a baker's assistant works alongside him, kneading dough and wiping flour off the counter. Alongside was once a phrase, either "along side" or "along the side," both primarily used in a nautical sense, to talk about boats. In the 1700s it became a single word.
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.
Zidane moved for £66 million, then the world record transfer fee, as part of Real Madrid's Galacticos era alongside other global stars including Ronaldo, Luis Figo and David Beckham.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Holland recently starred alongside Zendaya and Bernthal in Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
This bittersweet ending is paralleled alongside the story of the patient and Katharine.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Eastern, alongside advance retail and wholesale inventories for June.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Maya-Jade, riding to the courthouse in the Shady Glen van alongside Julio, Leyla, Minna, and Sid, is also trying to be brave, though it’s hard.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
