by

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

US /baɪ/ UK /baɪ/ See IPA manual

Homophones

buy /baɪ/ bye /baɪ/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like vie /v/ vs /b/

Freq #99

Meanings

1

prep
Used to show who or what does or causes something.

The matter was decided by the chairman.
2

prep
Used to show the method or means of doing something.

We travelled to the city by train.
3

prep
Near to or beside something.

The mailbox is by the bus stop.
4

prep
Not later than a particular time.

Please be back home by ten o'clock.
5

prep
Used to show who created a work.

This is a famous play by William Shakespeare.

Thesaurus

Opposites

main principal

Word family

Derived forms off-by-one

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Idioms (14)

See all

by and large
generally; on the whole
by the book
strictly following the rules or official procedures
by the skin of your teeth
By the narrowest possible margin; only just barely.
fall by the wayside
be abandoned, neglected, or fail before completion
hang by a thread
to remain so precarious that collapse or failure could happen at any moment
play it by ear
To deal with a situation as it develops rather than following a fixed plan.

Etymology

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”).

by Middle English bī Old English *bī Proto-West Germanic *bi Proto-Germanic *h₁epi Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# by

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** prep
**IPA (US):** /baɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /baɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 99

## Meanings
1. Used to show who or what does or causes something.
2. Used to show the method or means of doing something.
3. Near to or beside something.
4. Not later than a particular time.
5. Used to show who created a work.

## Examples
- The matter was decided by the chairman.
- We travelled to the city by train.
- The mailbox is by the bus stop.
- Please be back home by ten o'clock.
- This is a famous play by William Shakespeare.

## Antonyms
- main
- principal

## Derived Forms
- off-by-one

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: by
- Root: bī
- Root: *bī
- Root: *bi
- Root: *h₁epi

## Etymology
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”).

## AI Etymology
By comes 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”).

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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by