- near in space; beside; at: stand by the wall
- in or during the time of: travel by night
- not later than: be back by ten o'clock
- via; through, along, or over: driving home by the dirt road
- past; beyond: to march by the reviewing stand
- to or within a distance of: missed the putt by a foot
- toward: north by northwest
- in behalf of: he did well by his friends
- with respect to (a given category): a lawyer by profession
- through the means, work, or operations of: a trip by train, a pact reached by negotiation, made by craftsmen, poems (written) by Poe
- through the activity or effort of: used before gerunds: he won by practicing daily
- produced with (the other parent): a son by my first husband
- following in series: marching two by two
- with the authority or sanction of: by your leave
- according to; in a manner consistent with: playing by the rules
- in the name of: used in oaths: by all that's holy
- Informal in the opinion of; with: the plans are OK by me
- in the amount of, or to the extent or degree of: apples by the peck
- at the rate or pace of: growing dark by degrees, paid by the hour
- and in another dimension: two feet by four feet
- using (the given number) as multiplier or divisor
Origin of by
Middle English by, bi, be from Old English be (unstressed), bi (stressed) from Germanic an unverified form bi, around, about, akin to Classical Greek amphi, Classical Latin ambi: see by-, be; origin, originally adv. of place, meaning “beside, near,” but already highly specialized preposition in Old English- close at hand; near: stand by
- away; aside: we have put money by
- close in passing; past: the car sped by
- at the place specified or understood: stop by on your way home
by and by
- Obs. immediately
- after a short while; soon
- sooner or later; eventually
by and large
by oneself
- alone; solitary
- unaided
by the by