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

France, Belgium and the Netherlands all have large Muslim populations of North African origin and they live beside far smaller Jewish populations, who in the main identify strongly with Israel.

From BBC

While on the run, he also bought clothes from Marks & Spencer and a coffee from McDonald's, and walked beside the River Thames before being caught by police three days later.

From BBC

"To see his giant teddy bear sitting on the bed beside him... he is stressed," she said.

From BBC

The stunt coordinator was running along beside me the whole time to make sure that if I fell, he could catch me.

From Los Angeles Times

Al-Dalou’s mother was burned alive beside him while his father, Ahmad, managed to rescue two of his five children.

From Salon