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Added 9 October 2026

by

/baɪ/ preposition

In Latin: apud, aput Wiktionary

preposition Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about by at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Near or next to.
The mailbox is by the bus stop.
From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.
The stream runs by our back door.
Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval); before.
Be back by ten o'clock!

adverb

Along a path which runs past someone or something.
I watched the parade as it passed by.
In the vicinity, near.
There was a shepherd close by.
To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.
I'll stop by on my way home from work.

adjective

Out of the way, off to one side.
a by path; a by room
Subsidiary, incidental.
by catch; a by issue

noun

Alternative form of bye.

Origin

From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi. Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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