Hyper Dictionary

English Dictionary Computer Dictionary Thesaurus Dream Dictionary Medical Dictionary


Search Dictionary:  

Meaning of BY

Pronunciation:  bI

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. [adv]  in reserve; not for immediate use; "started setting aside money to buy a car"; "put something by for her old age"; "has a nestegg tucked away for a rainy day"
  2. [adv]  so as to pass a given point; "every hour a train goes past"
 
 Websites: 
 
 Synonyms: aside, away, past
 

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. \By\ (b[imac]), prep. [OE. bi, AS. b[=i], big, near to, by,
    of, from, after, according to; akin to OS. & OFries. bi, be,
    D. bij, OHG. b[=i], G. bei, Goth. bi, and perh. Gr. 'amfi`.
    E. prefix be- is orig. the same word. [root]203. See pref.
    {Be-}.]
    1. In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from;
       close to; along with; as, come and sit by me. [1913
       Webster]
             By foundation or by shady rivulet He sought them
             both.                                 --Milton.
    2. On; along; in traversing. Compare 5.
             Long labors both by sea and land he bore. --Dryden.
             By land, by water, they renew the charge. --Pope.
    3. Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side
       of; past; as, to go by a church.
    4. Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty
       feet by forty.
    5. Against. [Obs.] --Tyndale [1. Cor. iv. 4].
    6. With, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with
       aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city
       is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take
       by force.
    Note: To the meaning of by, as denoting means or agency,
          belong, more or less closely, most of the following
          uses of the word:
       (a) It points out the author and producer; as,
           ``Waverley'', a novel by Sir W.Scott; a statue by
           Canova; a sonata by Beethoven.
       (b) In an oath or adjuration, it indicates the being or
           thing appealed to as sanction; as, I affirm to you by
           all that is sacred; he swears by his faith as a
           Christian; no, by Heaven.
       (c) According to; by direction, authority, or example of;
           after; -- in such phrases as, it appears by his
           account; ten o'clock by my watch; to live by rule; a
           model to build by.
       (d) At the rate of; according to the ratio or proportion
           of; in the measure or quantity of; as, to sell cloth
           by the yard, milk by the quart, eggs by the dozen,
           meat by the pound; to board by the year.
       (e) In comparison, it denotes the measure of excess or
           deficiency; when anything is increased or diminished,
           it indicates the measure of increase or diminution;
           as, larger by a half; older by five years; to lessen
           by a third.
       (f) It expresses continuance or duration; during the
           course of; within the period of; as, by day, by night.
       (g) As soon as; not later than; near or at; -- used in
           expressions of time; as, by this time the sun had
           risen; he will be here by two o'clock.
    Note: In boxing the compass, by indicates a pint nearer to,
          or towards, the next cardinal point; as, north by east,
          i.e., a point towards the east from the north;
          northeast by east, i.e., on point nearer the east than
          northeast is.
    Note: With is used instead of by before the instrument with
          which anything is done; as, to beat one with a stick;
          the board was fastened by the carpenter with nails. But
          there are many words which may be regarded as means or
          processes, or, figuratively, as instruments; and
          whether with or by shall be used with them is a matter
          of arbitrary, and often, of unsettled usage; as, to a
          reduce a town by famine; to consume stubble with fire;
          he gained his purpose by flattery; he entertained them
          with a story; he distressed us with or by a recital of
          his sufferings. see {With}.
    {By all means}, most assuredly; without fail; certainly.
    {By and by}.
       (a) Close together (of place). [Obs.] ``Two yonge knightes
           liggyng [lying] by and by.'' --Chaucer.
       (b) Immediately; at once. [Obs.] ``When . . . persecution
           ariseth because of the word, by and by he is
           offended.'' --Matt. xiii. 21.
       (c) Presently; pretty soon; before long.
    Note: In this phrase, by seems to be used in the sense of
          nearness in time, and to be repeated for the sake of
          emphasis, and thus to be equivalent to ``soon, and
          soon,'' that is instantly; hence, -- less emphatically,
          -- pretty soon, presently.
    {By one's self}, with only one's self near; alone; solitary.
    {By the bye}. See under {Bye}.
    {By the head} (Naut.), having the bows lower than the stern;
       -- said of a vessel when her head is lower in the water
       than her stern. If her stern is lower, she is by the
       stern.
    {By the lee}, the situation of a vessel, going free, when she
       has fallen off so much as to bring the wind round her
       stern, and to take her sails aback on the other side.
    {By the run}, to let go by the run, to let go altogether,
       instead of slacking off.
    {By the way}, by the bye; -- used to introduce an incidental
       or secondary remark or subject.
    {Day by day}, {One by one}, {Piece by piece}, etc., each day,
       each one, each piece, etc., by itself singly or
       separately; each severally.
    {To come by}, to get possession of; to obtain.
    {To do by}, to treat, to behave toward.
    {To set by}, to value, to esteem.
    {To stand by}, to aid, to support.
    Note: The common phrase good-by is equivalent to farewell,
          and would be better written good-bye, as it is a
          corruption of God be with you (b'w'ye).
    
  2. \By\, adv.
    1. Near; in the neighborhood; present; as, there was no
       person by at the time.
    2. Passing near; going past; past; beyond; as, the procession
       has gone by; a bird flew by.
    3. Aside; as, to lay by; to put by.
    
  3. \By\, a.
    Out of the common path; aside; -- used in composition, giving
    the meaning of something aside, secondary, or incidental, or
    collateral matter, a thing private or avoiding notice; as,
    by-line, by-place, by-play, by-street. It was formerly more
    freely used in composition than it is now; as, by-business,
    by-concernment, by-design, by-interest, etc.
    
 
Computing Dictionary
 
 Definition: 

The country code for Belarus.

 
Easton Bible Dictionary
 
 Definition: 

in the expression "by myself" (A.V., 1 Cor. 4:4), means, as rendered in the Revised Version, "against myself."

 
Thesaurus Terms
 
 Related Terms: abeam, abreast, accommodated to, according to, adapted to, adieu, adjusted to, after, agreeable to, agreeably to, all through, along by, alongside, among, answerable to, around, as to, aside, at, back, beside, by dint of, by means of, by use of, by virtue of, by way of, bye-bye, conformable to, congruent with, consistent with, farewell, from, good-bye, hereby, herewith, in, in accordance with, in agreement with, in compliance with, in conformity with, in correspondence to, in harmony with, in keeping with, in line with, in lock-step with, in obedience to, in reserve, in step with, in uniformity with, in virtue of, near, nearby, next to, nigh, on, over, passing by, passing through, per, proper to, round, round about, so long, suitable for, thanks to, thereby, therewith, through, to, toward, uniform with, upon, via, whereby, wherewith, wherewithal, with
 

 

 

 

COPYRIGHT © 2000-2003 WEBNOX CORP. HOME | ABOUT HYPERDICTIONARY