beside
/bɪˈsʌɪd
/preposition
1At the side of; next to: he sat beside me in the front seat the table beside the bed...
- There was a small table with a bowl beside his bed and a person sat on a chair overlooking him.
- They sat at one of the better tables up beside the parapet overlooking the courtyard.
- Aiden was kind enough to ask me to sit beside him at the table that he had all to himself.
Synonyms
alongside, by the side of, at the side of, next to, parallel to, abreast of, at someone's elbow, with, by;
adjacent to, next door to, cheek by jowl with, hard by;
bordering, abutting, neighbouring, close to, near, overlooking
archaic aside of
1.1Compared with: beside Paula she always felt clumsy...
- But I feel ugly beside Willow and wonder how she can bring herself to look at me, never mind kiss me.
- She is so clever and intelligent, I look at her and think "Wow, I feel stupid beside her".
- They might just feel stupid beside those who are much better than themselves.
Synonyms
compared with, in comparison with, next to, against, contrasted with, in contrast to/with
2In addition to; apart from: he commissioned work from other artists beside Minton...
- There are two other artists beside myself that I would like to incorporate into the fabric of my discussion.
- You only give respect to people who respect others beside themselves.
- My 1 year old son has no contact with other children beside his sister!
Usage
Some people say that beside should not be used to mean ‘apart from’ and that besides should be used instead (he commissioned work from other artists besides Minton rather than he commissioned work from other artists beside Minton). Although there is little logical basis for such a view, and in standard English both beside and besides are used for this sense, it is worth being aware of the potential ambiguity in the use of beside: beside the cold meat, there are platters of trout and salmon means either ‘the cold meat is next to the trout and salmon’ or ‘apart from the cold meat, there are also trout and salmon’.
Phrases
beside oneself
beside the point
Origin
Old English be sīdan (adverb) 'by the side' (see by, side).