1. Close to; next to: the window by the door.2. With the use or help of; through: We came by the back road.3. Up to and beyond; past: We drove by the house.4. In the period of; during: sleeping by day.5. Not later than: by 5:30 p.m.6a. In the amount of: letters by the thousands.b. To the extent of: shorter by two inches.7a. According to: played by the rules.b. With respect to: siblings by blood.8. In the name of: swore by the Bible to tell the truth.9. Through the agency or action of: was killed by a bullet.10. Used to indicate a succession of specified individuals, groups, or quantities: One by one they left. They were persuaded little by little.11a. Used in multiplication and division: Multiply 4 by 6 to get 24.b. Used with measurements: a room 12 by 18 feet.c. Toward. Used to express direction with points of the compass: south by east.
ADVERB:
1. On hand; nearby: Stand by.2. Aside; away: We put it by for later.3. Up to, alongside, and past: The car raced by.4. At or to one's home or current location: Stop by later today.5. Into the past: as years go by.
IDIOM:
by oneself1. Without company; alone: went by herself.2. Without help: wrote the book by myself.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old English b, be. See ambhi in Appendix I.
b
