with

Meanings

1. 1
   prep

   In the company of someone or something.

   He went to the cinema with his friends.

2. 2
   prep

   Using something as a tool or means.

   She cut the bread with a sharp knife.

3. 3
   prep

   Having or carrying something.

   She owns a motorcycle with a sidecar.

4. 4
   prep

   Used to show the way something happens at the same time.

   Jim was listening to music with his eyes closed.

5. 5
   prep

   Concerning or in relation to.

   There are a number of problems with your plan.

Common collocations

• help with Verb + preposition/particle
• agree with Verb + preposition/particle

From Middle English with, from Old English wiþ (“against, opposite, toward, with”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiþi, a shortened form of Proto-Germanic *wiþrą (“against”). In Middle English, the word shifted to denote association rather than opposition, displacing Middle English mid (“with”), from Old English mid (“with”), from Proto-Germanic *midi; an earlier model of this meaning shift exists in cognate Old Norse við; elsewhere, the converse meaning shift is exemplified by Old South Arabian 𐩨𐩺𐩬 (byn, “between, amid”) spawning Old South Arabian 𐩨𐩬 (bn, “against”) and even likewise frequent rev…

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