- next to or at the side of somebody/something
- He sat beside her all night.
- a mill beside a stream
Which Word? beside / besidesbeside / besides- The preposition beside usually means ‘next to something/somebody’ or ‘at the side of something/somebody’:
- Sit here beside me.
- What other sports do you play besides hockey?
- The adverb besides is not usually used on its own with the same meaning as the preposition. It is mainly used to give another reason or argument for something:
- I don’t think I’ll come on Saturday. I have a lot of work to do. Besides, I don’t really like parties.
- She likes football. Besides, she likes tennis and basketball.
- compared with somebody/something
- My painting looks childish beside yours.
Word OriginOld English be sīdan (adverb) ‘by the side’ (see by, side).
Idioms
See beside in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee beside in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe beside the point
- to not be important or closely related to the main thing you are talking about
- Yes, I know it was an accident, but that's beside the point.
- They took my words out of context, but that’s beside the point.
beside yourself (with something)
- unable to control yourself because of the strength of emotion you are feeling
- He was beside himself with rage when I told him what I had done.
- They were beside themselves with excitement.
Check pronunciation:
beside