by ['bī, before consonants also] -prep

  1. in proximity to : near
    • standing by the window
  2. through or through the medium of : via
    • enter by the door
  3. in the direction of : toward
    • north by east
  4. into the vicinity of and beyond : past
    • went right by him
  5. during the course of
    • studied by night
  6. not later than
    • by 2 p.m.
  7. through the agency or instrumentality of
    • by force
  8. born or begot of
  9. sired or borne by
  10. with the witness or sanction of
    • swear by all that is holy
  11. in conformity with
    • acted by the rules
  12. according to
    • called her by name
  13. on behalf of
    • did right by his children
  14. with respect to
    • a lawyer by profession
  15. in or to the amount or extent of
    • win by a nose
  16. in comparison with : beside
  17. used as a function word to indicate successive units or increments
    • little by little
    • walk two by two
  18. used as a function word in multiplication, in division, and in measurements
    • divide a by b
    • multiply 10 by 4
    • a room 15 feet by 20 feet
  19. in the opinion of : from the point of view of
    • okay by me
  20. close at hand : near
  21. at or to another's home
    • stop by
  22. past
    • saw him go by
  23. aside, away
  24. being off the main route : side
  25. incidental
  26. something of secondary importance : a side issue
  27. used to express farewell often used with following now

byandby [,bī-ən-'bī] -n

  1. a future time or occasion

by and by -adv

  1. before long, soon

by and large -adv

  1. on the whole : in general

byblow ['bī-,blō] -n

  1. an indirect blow
  2. an illegitimate child

by·catch [-,kach, -,kech] -n

  1. the portion of a commercial fishing catch that consists of marine animals caught unintentionally

bye ['bī] -n

  1. the position of a participant in a tournament who advances to the next round without playing

byebye ['bī-,bī, bī-'bī] -interj

  1. used to express farewell
  2. out esp. for a walk or ride used with the verb go
  3. bed, sleep
    • lie down...and go to byebye -- Rudyard Kipling
  4. to bed or sleep used with the verb go

byelec·tion ['bī-ə-,lek-shən] -n

  1. a special election held between regular elections in order to fill a vacancy

Bye·lo·rus·sian [bē-,e-lō-'rə-shən, ,bye-lō-] -n

  1. belarusian

byform ['bī-,fȯrm] -n

  1. a parallel and sometimes less important form of a word, stem, or formative element in a given language or dialect

by·gone ['bī-,gȯn also -,gän] -adj, n

  1. gone by : past
    • bygone days
  2. outmoded
    • bygone styles

by·law ['bī-,lȯ] -n

  1. a rule adopted by an organization chiefly for the government of its members and the regulation of its affairs
  2. a local ordinance

by·line ['bī-,līn] -n

  1. a secondary line : sideline
  2. a line at the beginning of a news story, magazine article, or book giving the writer's name

byline [-,lī-nər] -vt, n

  1. to write (an article) under a byline

by·name ['bī-,nām] -n

  1. a secondary name
  2. nickname

BYO -abbr

  1. bring your own

BYOB -abbr

  1. bring your own beer; bring your own booze; bring your own bottle

by·pass ['bī-,pas] -n

  1. a passage to one side
  2. a deflected route usu. around a town
  3. a channel carrying a fluid around a part and back to the main stream
  4. shunt
  5. shunt
  6. a surgical procedure for the establishment of a shunt
    • have a coronary bypass

bypass -vt

  1. to avoid by means of a bypass
    • bypass a congested area
  2. to cause to follow a bypass
  3. to neglect or ignore usu. intentionally
  4. circumvent
    • attempting to bypass the law

by·past ['bī-,past] -adj

  1. bygone

by·path [-,path, -,päth] -n

  1. byway

by·play [-,plā] -n

  1. action engaged in on the side while the main action proceeds (as during a dramatic production)

byprod·uct [-,prä-(,)dəkt] -n

  1. something produced in a usu. industrial or biological process in addition to the principal product
  2. a secondary and sometimes unexpected or unintended result

byre ['bī(-ə)r] -n

  1. a cow barn

by·road ['bī-,rōd] -n

  1. byway

bys·si·no·sis [,bi-sə-'nō-səs] -n

  1. an occupational respiratory disease associated with inhalation of cotton, flax, or hemp dust and characterized initially by chest tightness, shortness of breath, and cough and eventually by irreversible lung disease

bys·sus ['bi-səs] -n

  1. a fine prob. linen cloth of ancient times
  2. a tuft of long tough filaments by which some bivalve mollusks (as mussels) adhere to a surface

by·stand·er ['bī-,stan-dər] -n

  1. one present but not taking part in a situation or event : a chance spectator

by·street [-,strēt] -n

  1. a street off a main thoroughfare

byte ['bīt] -n

  1. a unit of computer information or data-storage capacity that consists of a group of eight bits and that is used esp. to represent an alphanumeric character

by·way ['bī-,wā] -n

  1. a little traveled side road
  2. a secondary or little known aspect or field
    • meandering more and more in the fascinating byway s of learning -- Times Lit. Supp.

by·word [-,wərd] -n

  1. a proverbial saying : proverb
  2. one that personifies a type
  3. one that is noteworthy or notorious
  4. epithet
  5. a frequently used word or phrase

byyourleave [,bī-yər-'lēv] -n

  1. a request for permission
    • imposed...without so much as a byyourleave -- J. L. Granatstein

Byz·an·tine ['bi-zᵊn-,tēn, 'bī-, -,tīn; bə-'zan-,, bī-'] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the ancient city of Byzantium
  2. of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of architecture developed in the Byzantine Empire esp. in the fifth and sixth centuries featuring the dome carried on pendentives over a square and incrustation with marble veneering and with colored mosaics on grounds of gold
  3. of or relating to the churches using a traditional Greek rite and subject to Eastern canon law
  4. of, relating to, or characterized by a devious and usu. surreptitious manner of operation
    • a Byzantine power struggle
  5. intricately involved : labyrinthine
    • rules of Byzantine complexity

Byzantine -n

  1. a native or inhabitant of Byzantium

By·zan·tin·ist [bi-'zan-ti-nist, bī-] -n

  1. a student of Byzantine culture