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.
When ready, the baskets were lifted out of the water by crane and placed on a barge alongside the Salvor, where researchers sifted through the contents by hand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Davies recalled holding his husband's hand when he died at home, alongside Davies' sister, which he said was "very important" to him.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Those students are then reviewed and notified alongside everyone else who applied in the fall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Two aircraft and five helicopters were deployed alongside about 100 firefighters to contain the fire, the Greek fire service said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
As a series of steamboats and trains carried Elisha’s body from Louisiana to Pennsylvania, thousands of Americans stood on riverbanks and alongside railroad tracks weeping, hats in hands, hands over hearts.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
