by
//baɪ//
Definitions
1.Along a path which runs past someone or something.
- I watched the parade as it passed by.
2.In the vicinity, near.
- There was a shepherd close by.
3.To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.
- I'll stop by on my way home from work.
- We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave.
4.Aside, away.
- The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.
1.Near or next to.
- The mailbox is by the bus stop.
2.Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval); before.
- We'll find someone by the end of March.
- I'll have been cycling for longer than two hours by lunchtime.
- Be back by ten o'clock!
3.After a given amount of time has elapsed or a given event has occurred.
- By February, we were all sick of the cold.
- By 29, my financial situation wasn’t just disorganized, it was untenable.
- By the time I realized I had left my phone at home, I was already two blocks from work.
4.From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.
- The stream runs by our back door.
- He ran straight by me.
Frequency
Overall
Very common· #33
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Uncommon
- General reading & writing
- Very common
- Academic
- Common
- Literature
- Uncommon
Etymology
From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.