by and by
ənˈbaɪ noun
the future: to meet in the sweet by-and-by.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
preposition
1.
near to or next to: a home by a lake.
2.
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.
adjective Also, bye.
30.
situated to one side: They came down a by passage.
31.
secondary, incidental: It was only a by comment.
noun
Idioms 32.
bye1.
33.
by and by, in a short time; before long; presently: The clouds will disappear by and by.
34.
by and large, in general; on the whole: By and large, there is much to be said for the new system.
35.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English bī; cognate with Dutch bij, Old High German bī (German bei), Gothic bi. See be-
before 900; Middle English; Old English bī; cognate with Dutch bij, Old High German bī (German bei), Gothic 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.
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To by and by
00:10
By and by
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
by (baɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —prep | |
| 1. | used to indicate the agent after a passive verb: seeds eaten by the birds |
| 2. | used to indicate the person responsible for a creative work: this song is by Schubert |
| 3. | via; through: enter by the back door |
| 4. | followed by a gerund to indicate a means used: he frightened her by hiding behind the door |
| 5. | beside; next to; near: a tree by the house |
| 6. | passing the position of; past: he drove by the old cottage |
| 7. | not later than; before: return the books by Tuesday |
| 8. | used to indicate extent, after a comparative: it is hotter by five degrees than it was yesterday |
| 9. | (esp in oaths) invoking the name of: I swear by all the gods |
| 10. | multiplied by: four by three equals twelve |
| 11. | (in habitual sentences) during the passing of (esp in the phrases by day, by night) |
| 12. | placed between measurements of the various dimensions of something: a plank fourteen inches by seven |
| —adv | |
| 13. | near: the house is close by |
| 14. | away; aside: he put some money by each week for savings |
| 15. | passing a point near something; past: he drove by |
| 16. | (Scot) past; over and done with: that's a' by now |
| 17. | (Scot) aside; behind one: you must put that by you |
| —n , byes | |
| 18. | a variant spelling of bye |
| [Old English bī; related to Gothic bi, Old High German bī, Sanskrit abhi to, towards] | |
| by | |
| —the internet domain name for | |
| Belarus | |
| by and by | |
| —adv | |
| 1. | presently or eventually |
| —n | |
| 2. | (US), (Canadian) a future time or occasion |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
by
O.E. be (unstressed) or bi (stressed) "near, in, by, during, about," from P.Gmc. *bi "around, about" (cf. O.S., O.Fris. bi, be "by near," Du. bij, Ger. bei "by, at, near," Goth. bi "about"), 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 (1610s). Phrase by and by (early 14c.) originally meant "one by one," modern sense is from 1520s. By and large (1660s) originally was nautical, "sailing to the wind and off it," hence "in one direction then another."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
| BY budget year |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Easton
Bible Dictionary
By definition
in the expression "by myself" (A.V., 1 Cor. 4:4), means, as rendered in the Revised Version, "against myself."
By and by definition
immediately (Matt. 13:21; R.V., "straightway;" Luke 21:9).
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
by and by
After a while, soon, as in She'll be along by and by. The expression probably relies on the meaning of by as a succession of quantities (as in "two by two"). This adverbial phrase came to be used as a noun, denoting either procrastination or the future. William Camden so used it for the former (Remains, 1605): "Two anons and a by and by is an hour and a half." And W.S. Gilbert used it in the latter sense when Lady Jane sings plaintively that little will be left of her "in the coming by and by," that is, as she grows old (Patience, 1881). [Early 1500s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Nearby Words
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