beside

[ bih-sahyd ]

preposition

1. by or at the side of; near:

   Sit down beside me.

2. compared with:

   Beside him other writers seem amateurish.

3. apart from; not connected with:

   beside the point; beside the question.

4. besides ( defs 4, 5 ).

adverb

1. along the side of something:

   The family rode in the carriage, and the dog ran along beside.

2. besides ( def 2 ).

beside

/ bɪˈsaɪd /

preposition

1. next to; at, by, or to the side of
2. as compared with
3. away from; wide of

   beside the point

4. archaic.
   besides
5. beside oneself
   postpositiveoften foll bywith overwhelmed; overwrought

   beside oneself with grief

adverb

1. at, by, to, or along the side of something or someone

Confusables Note

For the prepositional meanings “over and above, in addition to” and “except” besides is preferred, especially in edited writing: Besides these honors he received a sum of money. We heard no other sound besides the breaking surf. However, beside sometimes occurs with these meanings as well.

Word History and Origins

Origin of beside¹

before 1000; Middle English; earlier bi-siden, Old English bī sīdan, be sīdan; be-, side ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of beside¹

Old English be sīdan ; see by , side

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. beside oneself, almost out of one's senses from a strong emotion, as from joy, delight, anger, fear, or grief:

   He was beside himself with rage when the train left without him.

Example Sentences

A common denominator – beside the fact that all the men went to the Pelicots' of their own free will - "remains nowhere to be found," Gisèle's own lawyers have said.

From BBC

So, she sat down beside the two men, in their office, as they introduced a carefully selected portion of each video, explaining who the men were, and what she would be seeing them do to her.

From BBC

Walking beside her up the steps towards the courthouse, Mr Babonneau noticed and recognised some of the accused men, in masks.

From BBC

He passed team-mate George Russell on the final lap to clinch fourth place and then celebrated by doing doughnuts on the pit straight, before climbing out of his car, crouching beside it and spending some moments with his thoughts.

From BBC

Mr McGovern stood on stage beside two cars, resplendent in "Miami Pink" and "London Blue" shades.

From BBC