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- DictionaryBy/bī/
preposition
- 1. identifying the agent performing an action.
- ▪ after a passive verb: "the door was opened by my cousin Annie" Similar through the agency ofby means ofunder the aegis ofusingutilizingemployingwith the help ofwith the aid ofas a result ofbecause ofby dint ofby way ofby virtue ofviathrough
- ▪ after a noun denoting an action: "a clear decision by the electorate"
- ▪ identifying the author of a text, idea, or work of art: "a book by Ernest Hemingway"
- 2. indicating the means of achieving something: "malaria can be controlled by attacking the parasite"
- ▪ indicating a term to which an interpretation is to be assigned: "what is meant by “fair?”"
- ▪ indicating a name according to which a person is known: "she mostly calls me by my last name"
- ▪ indicating the means of transport selected for a journey: "traveling by train to Boston"
- ▪ indicating the other parent of someone's child or children: "Richard is his son by his third wife"
- ▪ indicating the sire of a pedigree animal, especially a horse: "a black filly by Goldfuerst"
- ▪ (followed by a noun without an adjective) in various phrases indicating how something happens: "I heard by chance that she has married again"
- 3. indicating the amount or size of a margin: "the shot missed her by miles"
- ▪ indicating a unit of measurement: "billing is by the minute"
- ▪ in phrases indicating something happening repeatedly or progressively, typically with repetition of a unit of time: "colors changing minute by minute"
- ▪ identifying a parameter: "a breakdown of employment figures by age and occupation"
- ▪ expressing multiplication, especially in dimensions: "a map measuring 24 by 36 inches"
- 4. indicating a deadline or the end of a particular time period: "I've got to do this report by Monday" Similar no later thanin good time foratbefore
- 5. indicating location of a physical object beside a place or object: "remains were discovered by the roadside" Similar next tobesidenext door toalongsideby/at the side ofabreast ofadjacent tocheek by jowl withside by side withnearclose tohard bynearest toneighboringadjoiningabuttingborderingoverlookingconnected toconnecting withcontiguous withattached to
- ▪ past and beyond: "I drove by our house" Similar pastin front ofbeyond
- 6. indicating the period in which something happens: "this animal always hunts by night"
- 7. concerning; according to: "anything you do is all right by me" Similar according towithas far as … is concernedconcerning
- 8. used in mild oaths: "it was the least he could do, by God"
adverb
- 1. so as to go past: "a car flashed by on the other side of the road"
noun
- 1. variant spelling of bye
Word Origin Old Englishbī, bi, be, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bij and German bei.
Scrabble Points: 7
B
3Y
4
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