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Synonyms

wayside

American  
[wey-sahyd] / ˈweɪˌsaɪd /

noun

  1. the side of the way; land immediately adjacent to a road, highway, path, etc.; roadside.

adjective

  1. being, situated, or found at or along the wayside.

    a wayside inn.
wayside British  
/ ˈweɪˌsaɪd /

noun

    1. the side or edge of a road

    2. (modifier) situated by the wayside

      a wayside inn

  2. to cease or fail to continue doing something

    of the nine starters, three fell by the wayside

  3. to be put aside on account of something more urgent

"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
wayside Idioms  

  1. see fall by the wayside.

Etymology

Origin of wayside

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at way 1, side 1

Vocabulary lists containing wayside

"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh," Vocabulary from the historical fiction

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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.

The notion of the Iranian “other” falls by the wayside.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

It was agreed last month by European Union leaders who settled on a loan backed by the bloc's common budget, after plans to tap frozen Russian central bank assets fell by the wayside.

From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026

The boring and soft-spoken, but effective, tenets of earning money, stacking it and growing it fall to the wayside.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026

Whoever falls by the wayside - McCullum, Rob Key, or neither - Stokes will remain, his importance to the England team undiminished.

From BBC • Jan. 3, 2026

In her desolate wanderings she came to Eleusis and sat by the wayside near a well.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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.