1. Word finder
  2. Word definitions
  3. beside

Find the word definition

What is "beside"

Crossword clues for beside

beside
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
beside
preposition
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be beside the point (=be not the most important thing to consider)
▪ He's the best person for the job so his age is beside the point.
be beside yourself with rage (=be so angry that you cannot control yourself)
▪ They had been publicly humiliated and were beside themselves with rage.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
seat yourself (in/on/beside etc sth)
▪ At two o'clock she seated herself at a window-table in a restaurant overlooking the Nile, near where the houseboat was moored.
▪ Hardin noted that thoughtfully and seated himself wearily in a corner just as far from the other five as possible.
▪ He seated himself at one end, and Emily sat beside him.
▪ He watched Ewen steadily, while the constable, who had seated himself at the kitchen table, was taking notes.
▪ She seated herself in a wicker chair and took her mug without speaking.
▪ She seats herself, opens it, begins to play.
▪ The pupils seat themselves in a square representing the doctor's office.
▪ Watson, and seat yourself precisely as you were overnight.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a cabin beside the lake
▪ Delhi is so old that many European cities actually look young beside it.
▪ Ella came and sat down beside me.
▪ Gary, come sit beside me.
▪ On the table beside the bed were several medicine bottles.
▪ The loss of the port pales beside the gain of a peace treaty.
▪ They were sitting beside the pool, eating breakfast.
▪ Tom's efforts seemed so weak beside Martin's.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Beside

Beside \Be*side"\, prep. [OE. biside, bisiden, bisides, prep. and adv., beside, besides; pref. be- by + side. Cf. Besides, and see Side, n.]

  1. At the side of; on one side of. ``Beside him hung his bow.''
    --Milton.

  2. Aside from; out of the regular course or order of; in a state of deviation from; out of.

    [You] have done enough To put him quite beside his patience.
    --Shak.

  3. Over and above; distinct from; in addition to.

    Note: [In this use besides is now commoner.]

    Wise and learned men beside those whose names are in the Christian records.
    --Addison.

    To be beside one's self, to be out of one's wits or senses.

    Paul, thou art beside thyself.
    --Acts xxvi. 2

  4. Syn: Beside, Besides. Usage: These words, whether used as prepositions or adverbs, have been considered strictly synonymous, from an early period of our literature, and have been freely interchanged by our best writers. There is, however, a tendency, in present usage, to make the following distinction between them:

    1. That beside be used only and always as a preposition, with the original meaning ``by the side of; '' as, to sit beside a fountain; or with the closely allied meaning ``aside from'', ``apart from'', or ``out of''; as, this is beside our present purpose; to be beside one's self with joy. The adverbial sense to be wholly transferred to the cognate word.

    2. That besides, as a preposition, take the remaining sense ``in addition to'', as, besides all this; besides the considerations here offered. ``There was a famine in the land besides the first famine.''
      --Gen. xxvi. 1. And that it also take the adverbial sense of ``moreover'', ``beyond'', etc., which had been divided between the words; as, besides, there are other considerations which belong to this case. The following passages may serve to illustrate this use of the words:

      Lovely Thais sits beside thee.
      --Dryden.

      Only be patient till we have appeased The multitude, beside themselves with fear.
      --Shak.

      It is beside my present business to enlarge on this speculation.
      --Locke.

      Besides this, there are persons in certain situations who are expected to be charitable.
      --Bp. Porteus.

      And, besides, the Moor May unfold me to him; there stand I in much peril.
      --Shak.

      That man that does not know those things which are of necessity for him to know is but an ignorant man, whatever he may know besides.
      --Tillotson.

      Note: See Moreover.

Beside

Besides \Be*sides"\, Beside \Be*side"\, adv. [OE. Same as beside, prep.; the ending -s is an adverbial one, prop. a genitive sign.]

  1. On one side. [Obs.]
    --Chaucer. Shak.

  2. More than that; over and above; not included in the number, or in what has been mentioned; moreover; in addition.

    The men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides ?
    --Gen. xix. 12.

    To all beside, as much an empty shade, An Eugene living, as a C[ae]sar dead.
    --Pope.

    Note: These sentences may be considered as elliptical.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
beside

Old English be sidan "by the side of" (only as two words), from be- + sidan dative of side (n.). By 1200, formed as one word and used as both adverb and preposition. The alternative Middle English meaning "outside" led to the sense preserved in beside oneself "out of one's wits" (late 15c.).

Wiktionary
beside

adv. otherwise; else prep. 1 next to; at the side of. 2 Not relevant to. 3 besides; in addition to.

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "beside".

Beside the cushion was a vacant throne, radiant as morning in the East, ablaze with devices in gold and gems, a seat to fill the meanest soul with sensations of majesty and tempt dervishes to the sitting posture.

His carriage, with his wife and two daughters already aboard and Cram scowling on the box beside the driver, stood by the front door.

Beside myself with rage, blushing for very shame, seeing but too late the fault I had committed by accepting the society of a scoundrel, I went up to my room, and hurriedly packed up my carpet-bag.

Early snowdrops showed their little white bonnets under a tree, and yellow aconites wore their pretty green frills just beside them.

She had made it easy for Addis to get Rhys alone because she wanted men she could trust beside her husband.

Mr Steplight and I made a fine pair of travelling-companions, for he addressed no word to me nor even looked in my direction during all the first stage so that I might have been a parcel he had shoved onto the seat beside him.

Without more ado I locked the door, took off my clothes, and seeing that her back was turned to me, jumped into bed beside her.

The boy stood beside the curule chair and looked down at the crowd, this his first experience of the extraordinary euphoria so many united people could generate, feeling the adulation brush his cheek because he stood so close to its source, and understanding what it must be like to be the First Man in Rome.

Why they should be still advancing in that dense clump we do not now know, nor can we surmise what thoughts were passing through the mind of the gallant and experienced chieftain who walked beside them.

Waned the day and I hied me afield, and thereafter I sat with the mighty when daylight was done, But with great men beside me, midst high-hearted laughter, I deemed me of all men the gainfullest one.

Entering the lodge, Aganippe lay down beside the glowing stones piled in a central pit.

Beside it, in a meadow full of agapanthus and arum lilies, I found two Australian prospectors.

So she sat beside Rillao and watched the boneless beings lounge and spout and push agates into new swirls and patterns.

Lord Clevedale lounged beside the old gentleman, and was frankly agog with curiosity.

Along the left side had once been a -track beside a ditch full of bulrushes and hemp agrimony, but this path was overgrown with thistles.