Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • preposition At the side of; next to.
  • preposition In comparison with.
  • preposition On an equal footing with.
  • preposition In addition to.
  • preposition Except for.
  • preposition Not relevant to.
  • adverb In addition.
  • adverb Nearby.
  • idiom (beside (oneself)) In a state of extreme excitement or agitation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Same as besides, which is now the common form.
  • At the side of; near: as, sit down beside me, or beside the stream.
  • Over and above; distinct from.
  • Out of; away from.
  • Apart from; not connected with; not according to.
  • Contrary to.
  • Out of; in a state deviating from.
  • Without.
  • Synonyms Beside, Besides. Beside, by the side of; besides, in addition to.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • preposition At the side of; on one side of.
  • preposition Aside from; out of the regular course or order of; in a state of deviation from; out of.
  • preposition Over and above; distinct from; in addition to.
  • preposition to be out of one's wits or senses.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • preposition Next to; at the side of.
  • preposition Not relevant to.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English biside, from Old English be sīdan : be, by; see by + sīde, side.]

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Examples

  • He thinks of being AWOL, and likes the idea of the label beside his name, the sense it gives of who he is.

    GIRL BY THE ROAD AT NIGHT

  • He thinks of being AWOL, and likes the idea of the label beside his name, the sense it gives of who he is.

    GIRL BY THE ROAD AT NIGHT

  • He thinks of being AWOL, and likes the idea of the label beside his name, the sense it gives of who he is.

    GIRL BY THE ROAD AT NIGHT

  • Boucheau, the name beside the bottom button reads.

    A Hidden Affair

  • Boucheau, the name beside the bottom button reads.

    A Hidden Affair

  • I rolled down the window, looked at his shield and the name beside his photo, and smiled.

    The Killing Kind

  • I think it was a real aesthetic satisfaction; I know they would talk of it afterward for hours, with sighing comparisons of the "form" of the young men of Elgin, which they called beside Hesketh's quite outre.

    The Imperialist

  • ... but a label beside each flavor helps the process greatly especially when the loud speakers are blaring in the background.

    Veronica's Test Kitchen

  • ... but a label beside each flavor helps the process greatly especially when the loud speakers are blaring in the background.

    Veronica's Test Kitchen

  • I backed up and tried pulling in beside the toilet.

    Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt » 2009 » June

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