by

Alternative forms

• bye (archaic for preposition and adverb, not used for abbreviation, preferred for noun and interjection)

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: bī, IPA: /baɪ/
• Homophones: bi, bye, buy

Preposition

by

1. Near or next to.
   • The mailbox is by the bus stop.
2. From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.
   • The stream runs by our back door.
   • He ran straight by me.
3. Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval).
   • Be back by ten o'clock!.
   • We'll find someone by the end of March.
   • We will send it by the first week of July.
4. Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
   1. Following a passive verb.
      • The matter was decided by the chairman.
      • The boat was swamped by the water.
      • He was protected by his body armour.
   2. Following a noun.
      • There was a call by the unions for a 30% pay rise.
   3. (not in common modern use) Following an adjective.
      • I was aghast by what I saw.
5. Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.
   • There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare
6. Indicates a means of achieving something: Involving/using the means of.
   • I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking.
   • By Pythagoras' theorem, we can calculate the length of the hypotenuse.
   • We went by bus.
   • I discovered it by chance.
   • By 'maybe' she means 'no'.
   • The electricity was cut off, so we had to read by candlelight.
7. Indicates an authority according to which something is done.
   • By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.
   1. Invokes an authority in an oath.
      • By Jove! I think she's got it!
      • By all that is holy, I'll put an end to this.
8. Indicates a means of classification or organisation.
   • I sorted the items by category.
   • Table 1 shows details of our employees broken down by sex and age.
9. Indicates the amount of change, difference or discrepancy
   • Our stock is up by ten percent.
   • His date of birth was wrong by ten years.
10. In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another.
    • We went through the book page by page.
    • We crawled forward by inches.
11. (with the) Acted on in units of the specified size or measure. (Sometimes hyperbolically)
    • sold by the yard; cheaper if bought by the gross
    • He drinks brandy by the bucketful!
12. per; with or in proportion to each.
    • His health was deteriorating by the day.
    • The pickers are paid by the bushel.
13. Indicates a referenced source: According to.
    • He cheated by his own admission.
    • By my reckoning, we should be nearly there.
14. Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.
    • It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix.
    • The room was about 4 foot by 6 foot.
    • The bricks used to build the wall measured 10 by 20 by 30 cm.
15. (horse breeding) Designates a horse's male parent (sire); cf. out of.
    • She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.

Adverb

by (not comparable)

1. Along a path which runs past the speaker.
   • I watched 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.

Adjective

by (not comparable)

1. Out of the way, off to one side.
   • a by path, a by room
2. Subsidiary, incidental.
   • by catch, a by issue

Noun

by (plural bys)

1. Alternative form of bye.

Interjection

by

1. Alternative spelling of bye.

Anagrams

• YB, Yb, yb

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bəi/, [bə̟i̯]

Preposition

by

1. at
2. to
3. by

Noun

by (plural bye)

1. bee

Pronunciation

• IPA: [ˈbɪ]

Particle

by

1. third-person singular conditional subjunctive of být; would
   • Vstával by dřív, ale to by si napřed musel koupit budík.

     • He would be getting up earlier, but then he would have to buy an alarm clock first.
2. (clipping, informal); would
   • Byl by tam šel, kdyby mě byli pozvali.

     • I would have gone there if they had invited me.
   • My by tam šli, kdyby nás byli pozvali.

     • We would have gone there if they had invited us.

Pronunciation

• IPA: [ˈb̥yˀ]

Noun

by c (singular definite byen, plural indefinite byer)

1. town, city

Pronunciation

• IPA: [ba̠i]

Particle

by(バイ) • (bai) 

1. (informal) Used to sign off a message/attribute a text.

Pronunciation

• IPA: [bɨ]

Verb

by (defective, invariable)

1. would (used with the past active participle to form a conditional)
   • Njecynimy to, dokulaž by jim škóźeło.

     • We don’t do that because it would hurt them.

Alternative forms

• b'
• b-

Particle

by (triggers lenition)

1. past/conditional of s'
   • By vie lhiam goll myrgeddin.

     • I want to go as well.
   • B'laik lhiam briaght jiu c'red bare lhiu jannoo jiu.

     • I'd like to ask you what you'd prefer to do today.
2. (dated) Past and conditional form of s' (used to introduce the comparative and superlative form of adjectives)
   • yn dooinney by hroshey ― the man who was the strongest

Alternative forms

• be, bi

Pronunciation

• IPA: /biː/, (unstressed) /bi/

Preposition

by

1. by

Verb

by

1. Alternative form of been (“to be”)

Pronunciation

• IPA: /byː/, [byː]

Noun

by m (definite singular byen, indefinite plural byer, definite plural byene)

1. town, city (regardless of population size or land area)

Alternative forms

• byde

Verb

by (imperative by, present tense byr, simple past bød or bøy or bydde, past participle budt or bydd)

1. to bid; offer
2. to ask; invite
3. to command; order

Pronunciation

• IPA: /byː/

Noun

by m (definite singular byen, indefinite plural byar, definite plural byane)

1. town, city (regardless of population size or land area)

Alternative forms

• bjoda, bjode, byda, byde

Verb

by (present tense byr, past tense baud or bydde, supine bode or bydd or bydt, past participle boden or bydd, present participle bydande, imperative by)

1. to command, order
   • Eg byd deg å stoppe.
     • I command you to stop.
2. to bid, offer
   • Eg byd deg 100 kroner.
     • I offer you a 100 NOK.
3. to offer
   • Bestemor baud på småkaker.
     • Granny offered us cookies.

Verb

by

1. third-person singular aorist of być
2. second-person singular aorist of być

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɨ/
• Syllabification: by

Particle

by

1. a particle used to make conditional mood; would, would've
   • On by tam nie poszedł./On nie poszedłby tam. ― He would not go there.

Conjunction

by

1. in order to, so that
   • Synonyms: aby, żeby

Alternative forms

• bye, bi', be, b'

Pronunciation

• IPA: [ˈbɪ], [ˈbə]
• (emphatic) IPA: [ˈbɑɪ̯]

Preposition

by

1. by
2. (in comparisons) than

Adverb

by

1. by, nearby

Conjunction

by

1. by (the time that)

Noun

by c

1. hamlet
2. village
3. (obsolete) farm
4. (obsolete) town, city
5. (slang, in the definite "byn") Rinkeby

Noun

by c

1. gust, rush of wind

Pronunciation

• (Clay) IPA: /bɛi̯/
• (Wood) IPA: /bi/

Preposition

by

1. near to
2. in relation to
   • By âlds

     • In the olden days

Preposition

by

1. Alternative form of bee (“by”)