over the surface of, through the medium of, along, or using as a route: He came by the highway. She arrived by air.
3.
on, as a means of conveyance: They arrived by ship.
4.
to and beyond the vicinity of; past: He went by the church.
5.
within the extent or period of; during: by day; by night.
6.
not later than; at or before: I usually finish work by five o'clock.
7.
to the extent or amount of: The new tug is larger than the old one by a great deal. He's taller than his sister by three inches.
8.
from the opinion, evidence, or authority of: By his own account he was in Chicago at the time. I know him by sight.
9.
according to; in conformity with: This is a bad movie by any standards.
10.
with (something) at stake; on: to swear by all that is sacred.
11.
through the agency, efficacy, work, participation, or authority of: The book was published by Random House.
12.
from the hand, mind, invention, or creativity of: She read a poem by Emily Dickinson. The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison.
13.
in consequence, as a result, or on the basis of: We met by chance. We won the game by forfeit.
14.
accompanied with or in the atmosphere of: Lovers walk by moonlight.
15.
in treatment or support of; for: He did well by his children.
16.
after; next after, as of the same items in a series: piece by piece; little by little.
17.
(in multiplication) taken the number of times as that specified by the second number, or multiplier: Multiply 18 by 57.
18.
(in measuring shapes) having an adjoining side of, as a width relative to a length: a room 10 feet by 12 feet.
19.
(in division) separated into the number of equal parts as that specified by the second number, or divisor: Divide 99 by 33.
20.
in terms or amounts of; in measuring units of: Apples are sold by the bushel. I'm paid by the week.
21.
begot or born of: Eve had two sons by Adam.
22.
(of quadrupeds) having as a sire: Equipoise II by Equipoise.
23.
Navigation. (as used in the names of the 16 smallest points on the compass) one point toward the east, west, north, or south of N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, or NW, respectively: He sailed NE by N from Pago Pago.
24.
into, at, or to: Come by my office this afternoon.
–adverb
25.
near; in the immediate vicinity; at hand: The school is close by.
26.
to and beyond a point near something; past: The car drove by.
27.
aside; away: Put your work by for the moment. Over the years, she laid by enough money to retire.
28.
over; past: in times gone by.
29.
by me,
a.
(in bridge and other bidding card games) a declaration that the speaker is passing.
b.
(in poker) a declaration that the speaker is checking: Is my pair of tens still high? By me.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE bī; c. D bij, OHG bī (G bei), Goth bi.See be-]
—Synonyms 11.By,through,with indicate agency or means of getting something done or accomplished. By is regularly used to denote the agent (person or force) in passive constructions: It is done by many; destroyed by fire. It also indicates means: Send it by airmail. With denotes the instrument (usually consciously) employed by an agent: He cut it with the scissors. Through designates particularly immediate agency or instrumentality or reason or motive: through outside aid; to yield through fear; wounded through carelessness.
O.E. be (unstressed) or bi (stressed), from P.Gmc. *bi "around, about" (cf. Du. bij, Ger. bei "by, at, near"), from *umbi, (cognate with second element in PIE *ambhi "around," cf. Skt. abhi "toward, to," Gk. amphi- "around, about"). Originally an adverbial particle of place, in which sense it is retained in place names (Whitby, Grimsby, etc.). Elliptical use for "secondary course" (opposed to main) was in O.E. This also is the sense of the second by in the phrase by the by (1615). Bygone is from 1424; by-product is from 1857; bystander from 1619; byline of a newspaper article, etc., is from 1926. Phrase by and by (c.1314) originally meant "one by one," modern sense is from 1526. By and large (1669) was originally nautical, "sailing to the wind and off it," hence "in one direction then another."
so as to pass a given point; "every hour a train goes past"
2.
in reserve; not for immediate use; "started setting aside money to buy a car"; "put something by for her old age"; "has a nest egg tucked away for a rainy day" [syn: aside]
Lakes by the Bay, FL (CDP, FIPS 38718) Location: 25.57185 N, 80.32553 W Population (1990): 5615 (2411 housing units) Area: 12.5 sq km (land), 0.4 sq km (water)
Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ (borough, FIPS 2440) Location: 40.19100 N, 74.01524 W Population (1990): 2165 (1371 housing units) Area: 1.1 sq km (land), 0.3 sq km (water)
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA (city, FIPS 11250) Location: 36.55335 N, 121.92095 W Population (1990): 4239 (3324 housing units) Area: 2.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL (town, FIPS 39475) Location: 26.18843 N, 80.09579 W Population (1990): 2990 (3345 housing units) Area: 1.2 sq km (land), 1.5 sq km (water)
Ormond-By-The-Sea, FL (CDP, FIPS 53175) Location: 29.34370 N, 81.06807 W Population (1990): 8157 (5241 housing units) Area: 5.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
A*baft"\ ([.a]*b[.a]ft"), prep. [Pref. a- on + OE. baft, baften, biaften, AS. be[ae]ftan; be by + [ae]ftan behind. See After, Aft, By.] (Naut.) Behind; toward the stern from; as, abaft the wheelhouse. Abaft the beam. See under Beam.
Amb-\, Ambi- \Am*bi-\ [L. prefix ambi-, amb-, akin to Gr. ?, Skr. abhi, AS. embe, emb, OHG. umbi, umpi, G. um, and also L. ambo both. Cf. Amphi-, Both, By.] A prefix meaning about, around; -- used in words derived from the Latin.
Be-\ [AS. be, and in accented form b[=i], akin to OS. be and b[=i], OHG. bi, pi, and p[=i], MHG. be and b[=i], G. be and bei, Goth. bi, and perh. Gr. ? about (cf. AS. bese['o]n to look about). [root]203. Cf. By, Amb-.] A prefix, originally the same word as by; joined with verbs, it serves: (a) To intensify the meaning; as, bespatter, bestir. (b) To render an intransitive verb transitive; as, befall (to fall upon); bespeak (to speak for). (c) To make the action of a verb particular or definite; as, beget (to get as offspring); beset (to set around). Note: It is joined with certain substantives, and a few adjectives, to form verbs; as, bedew, befriend, benight, besot; belate (to make late); belittle (to make little). It also occurs in certain nouns, adverbs, and prepositions, often with something of the force of the preposition by, or about; as, belief (believe), behalf, bequest (bequeath); because, before, beneath, beside, between. In some words the original force of be is obscured or lost; as, in become, begin, behave, behoove, belong.
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Audio Help [bahy] Pronunciation Key preposition, adverb, adjective, noun, plural byes. 
