Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • preposition At the side of; next to.
  • preposition In comparison with.
  • preposition On an equal footing with.
  • preposition In addition to.
  • preposition Except for.
  • preposition Not relevant to.
  • adverb In addition.
  • adverb Nearby.
  • idiom (beside (oneself)) In a state of extreme excitement or agitation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Same as besides, which is now the common form.
  • At the side of; near: as, sit down beside me, or beside the stream.
  • Over and above; distinct from.
  • Out of; away from.
  • Apart from; not connected with; not according to.
  • Contrary to.
  • Out of; in a state deviating from.
  • Without.
  • Synonyms Beside, Besides. Beside, by the side of; besides, in addition to.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • preposition At the side of; on one side of.
  • preposition Aside from; out of the regular course or order of; in a state of deviation from; out of.
  • preposition Over and above; distinct from; in addition to.
  • preposition to be out of one's wits or senses.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • preposition Next to; at the side of.
  • preposition Not relevant to.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English biside, from Old English be sīdan : be, by; see by + sīde, side.]

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Examples

  • He thinks of being AWOL, and likes the idea of the label beside his name, the sense it gives of who he is.

    GIRL BY THE ROAD AT NIGHT DAVID RABE 2010

  • He thinks of being AWOL, and likes the idea of the label beside his name, the sense it gives of who he is.

    GIRL BY THE ROAD AT NIGHT DAVID RABE 2010

  • He thinks of being AWOL, and likes the idea of the label beside his name, the sense it gives of who he is.

    GIRL BY THE ROAD AT NIGHT DAVID RABE 2010

  • Boucheau, the name beside the bottom button reads.

    A Hidden Affair Pam Jenoff 2010

  • Boucheau, the name beside the bottom button reads.

    A Hidden Affair Pam Jenoff 2010

  • I rolled down the window, looked at his shield and the name beside his photo, and smiled.

    The Killing Kind John Connolly 2002

  • I think it was a real aesthetic satisfaction; I know they would talk of it afterward for hours, with sighing comparisons of the "form" of the young men of Elgin, which they called beside Hesketh's quite outre.

    The Imperialist Sara Jeannette Duncan

  • ... but a label beside each flavor helps the process greatly especially when the loud speakers are blaring in the background.

    Veronica's Test Kitchen 2009

  • ... but a label beside each flavor helps the process greatly especially when the loud speakers are blaring in the background.

    Veronica's Test Kitchen 2009

  • I backed up and tried pulling in beside the toilet.

    Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt » 2009 » June 2009

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