by

preposition

1. 1

   Near or next to.

   The mailbox is by the bus stop.

2. 2

   From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.

   The stream runs by our back door.

   He ran straight by me.

3. 3

   Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval); before.

   Be back by ten o'clock!

   We'll find someone by the end of March.

   I'll have been cycling for longer than two hours by lunchtime.

4. 4

   After a given amount of time has elapsed or a given event has occurred.

   By February, we were all sick of the cold.

   By the time I realized I had left my phone at home, I was already two blocks from work.

   By 29, my financial situation wasn’t just disorganized, it was untenable.

5. 5

   Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of. Following a passive verb.

   The matter was decided by the chairman.

   The boat was swamped by the water.

   He was protected by his body armour.

   Valencia threatened sporadically in the first half with Miguel having a decent effort deflected wide by Ashley Cole, while Jordi Alba's near-post cross was flicked into the sidenetting by Pablo Hernandez.

6. 6

   Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of. Following a noun.

   There was a call by the unions for a 30% pay rise.

7. 7

   Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of. Following an adjective.

   I was aghast by what I saw.

   In other directions the fields and sky were so much of one colour by the snow that it was difficult in a hasty glance to tell whereabouts the horizon occurred […].

   Nina is pregnant by a wishy-washy ACLU lawyer named Howard.

8. 8

   Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.

   There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare

9. 9

   Indicates a means of achieving something: Involving/using the means of.

   I'd know you anywhere by your gravelly voice.

   I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking.

   By Pythagoras' theorem, we can calculate the length of the hypotenuse.

   We went by bus.

10. 10

    Indicates an authority according to which something is done.

    By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.

    I live by my own code of ethics.

11. 11

    Indicates an authority according to which something is done. Invokes an authority in an oath.

    By Jove! I think she's got it!

    By all that is holy, I'll put an end to this.

    By yonder moon I swear you do me wrong

    'By my soul! I believe something bad has happened me,' he muttered, and popped up his window, and looked out, half dreaming over the church-yard on the park beyond […]

12. 12

    Indicates a means of classification or organisation.

    I sorted the items by category.

    Table 1 shows details of our employees broken down by sex and age.

13. 13

    Indicates the amount of change, difference or discrepancy

    Our stock is up by ten percent.

    We won by six goals to three.

    His date of birth was wrong by ten years.

14. 14

    In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another.

    We went through the book page by page.

    We crawled forward by inches.

15. 15

    [with the] Acted on in units of the specified size or measure. (Sometimes hyperbolically)

    sold by the yard; cheaper if bought by the gross

    While sitting listening to the radio by the hour, she can drink brandy by the bucketful!

    He sits listening to the radio by the hour.

16. 16

    Per; with or in proportion to each.

    His health was deteriorating by the day.

    The pickers are paid by the fortnight by the American bushel.

17. 17

    Indicates a referenced source: According to.

    He cheated by his own admission.

    By my reckoning, we should be nearly there.

    Ignorant and ſuperſtitious wretches meaſure the actions of letterd and philoſophical men by the tattle of their nurſes or illiterate parents and companions, or by the faſhion of the country : and people of differing religions judge and condemn each other by their own tenents ; when both of them cannot be in the right, and it is well if either of them are.

18. 18

    Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.

    It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix.

    The room was about 4 foot by 6 foot.

    The bricks used to build the wall measured 10 by 20 by 30 cm.

19. 19

    Multiplied by or (chiefly South Asia) divided by.

20. 20

    Designates a horse's sire (“male parent”).

    She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.

21. 21

    At; with; among.

    Are you eating by Rabbi Fischer? (at the house of)

    By Chabad, it's different.

22. 22

    In a windward direction, sailing near to the direction from which the wind is blowing.

adverb

1. 1

   Along a path which runs past someone or something.

   I watched the parade as it passed by.

2. 2

   In the vicinity, near.

   There was a shepherd close by.

   [The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]

3. 3

   To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.

   I'll stop by on my way home from work.

   We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave.

4. 4

   Aside, away.

   The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.

5. 5

   Beyond or past a certain point.

   I'll somehow manage to get by.

adjective

1. 1

   Out of the way, off to one side.

   a by path; a by room

2. 2

   Subsidiary, incidental.

   by catch; a by issue

noun

1. 1

   Variant of byeAlternative form of bye.

interjection

1. 1

   Variant of byedatedDated form of bye (“goodbye”).

Forms

plural

bys