alongside

American  

[uh-lawng-sahyd, uh-long-] / əˈlɔŋˈsaɪd, əˈlɒŋ- /

adverb

1. along, by, at, or to the side of something.

   We brought the boat alongside.

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preposition

1. beside; by the side of.

   The dog ran alongside me all the way.

2. Informal. alongside of, compared with.

   Alongside of his brother, he is no student at all.

alongside British  

/ əˈlɒŋˌsaɪd /

preposition

1. (often foll by of) along the side of; along beside

   alongside the quay

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adverb

1. along the side of some specified thing

   come alongside

Etymology

Origin of alongside

First recorded in 1700–10; along + side ¹

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

But Démare used the slip stream behind Ewan to perfection to pull alongside his rival just before the line and then threw himself forward to edge his rival by the smallest of margins.

From Seattle Times • May 12, 2022

The lifeboatmen made multiple attempts to pull alongside the vessel before being overwhelmed by the conditions.

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2021

During these maneuvers, ships pull alongside one another and oil is transferred to a vessel via high-pressure hoses.

From Reuters • Nov. 28, 2018

They manage to pull alongside the barge with a few inches of water in their boat but everything intact.

From Slate • Sep. 11, 2015

At an appointed time, a black car would pull alongside him as he walked along a quiet street.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau