thereby
Americanadverb
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by that; by means of that.
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in that connection or relation.
Thereby hangs a tale.
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by or near that place.
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Scot. about that number, quantity, or degree.
adverb
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by that means; because of that
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archaic by or near that place; thereabouts
Etymology
Origin of thereby
before 900; Middle English therby, Old English thǣrbī. See there, by
Explanation
The adverb thereby shows cause and effect: "She forgot to tie her shoes, thereby tripping and falling down the stairs." Use thereby to connect two events: because of A, B happened: "Matt walked around with the frying pan on his head, thereby causing him to walk into a wall." Thereby is used in the infamous saying, written by Shakespeare: "And thereby hangs a tale" — a humorous way to let your listeners know they are about to hear an extremely long explanation as to why something happened.
Vocabulary lists containing thereby
Beowulf vocabulary
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5.7: Consequences of Industrialization (Sources 1–7)
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Moko Magic: Carnival Chaos
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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.
Currently banks can use losses from the past to offset against profits - thereby reducing their tax bill in any given year.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Bryant’s concept of franchising the show across different sports gave Manning the idea to do the same with “Peyton’s Places,” thereby creating spinoffs with his brother, Eli, John McEnroe, Sue Bird and others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
The process of repurchasing stock reduces the number of shares outstanding, thereby helping boost earnings per share.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
They cautioned that radio frequency interference could disrupt measurements, reduce data quality or availability and thereby compromise the reliability of forecasts and alerts, affecting authorities' ability to prepare for and respond to environmental hazards.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Jefferson noted, somewhat gratuitously, that perhaps in New England vestiges of feudalism remained and thereby misled Adams.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
