beside

beside — preposition

1. in a position right next to and touching, or very close to, a person or thing.

1.prepositionA2
Definition

in a position right next to and touching, or very close to, a person or thing.

Example

Kenji put his wet umbrella beside the front door.

beside + concrete object showing physical position

The little boy sat quietly beside his grandfather on the bench.

Common collocations
  • sit beside
  • stand beside
  • lie beside
  • walk beside
  • park beside
Synonyms
  • next to

    more common in speech; same physical meaning

  • alongside

    suggests parallel position, often for moving things or longer objects

  • by

    shorter and very common; slightly less precise about touching

Antonyms
  • away from

    indicates distance rather than closeness

Grammar Patterns

beside + noun phrase

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2: this physical-position sense almost always pairs with concrete objects (a bed, a door, a person), while sense 2 (compared to) usually appears in evaluative contexts about quality, size, or value.

Common Mistakes

I sat beside to my brother.
I sat beside my brother.
'beside' is followed directly by the noun, never by 'to'.
Put your bag beside of the chair.
Put your bag beside the chair.
no 'of' after 'beside'.

2. when you put one thing next to another in your mind to judge their qualities, of

2.prepositionB2
Definition

when you put one thing next to another in your mind to judge their qualities, often to show that one looks small, weak, or poor by comparison.

Example

Beside her older sister, Anna seemed shy and very young.

fronted 'beside + NP' for comparison

My salary looks tiny beside what the manager earns each month.

comparison of size or amount

Common collocations
  • look small beside
  • feel weak beside
  • seem cheap beside
  • pale beside
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

beside + noun phrase used in comparison

Usage Note

Frequently fronts the sentence ('Beside X, Y is …') or follows an evaluative adjective ('small / weak / cheap beside …'). Do not confuse with 'besides', which means 'in addition to'.

Common Mistakes

Besides his brother, he looks short.' (when meaning a comparison)
Beside his brother, he looks short.
drop the 's': 'besides' means 'in addition to', not 'compared with'.
My car is cheap beside with his.
My car is cheap beside his.
no 'with' after 'beside'.

3. having nothing to do with the actual topic being discussed, so the matter does n

3.prepositionC2
Definition

having nothing to do with the actual topic being discussed, so the matter does not really matter to the argument.

Example

In the meeting, Jamal told the team that Otto's salary was beside the point.

beside the point: dismisses an irrelevant detail

The judge stopped the lawyer and said the witness's clothes were beside the point.

Common collocations
  • beside the point
  • beside the question
  • quite beside the point
  • rather beside the point
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

beside the point / beside the question

Usage Note

Almost always appears in the fixed phrase 'beside the point' (or, more formally, 'beside the question'). Use it to push back when someone raises a fact that does not affect the argument.

Common Mistakes

His age is besides the point.
His age is beside the point.
the idiom uses 'beside' (no 's').
That is beside of the point.
That is beside the point.
no 'of' between 'beside' and 'the point'.
Idioms

beside oneself

idiom

so filled with a strong feeling, especially worry, anger, or joy, that you cannot think or behave normally.

Otto was beside himself with worry when his daughter did not come home on time.

Nia was beside herself with joy after she won the school singing contest.

be beside the point

idiom

It means something is not important or not related to the main topic.

Mia argued about the color, but that is beside the point.

Did you forget the main issue? That detail is beside the point.

beside yourself (with something)

idiom

It means you cannot control your feelings because you are very emotional.

Liam was beside himself with joy when he won the prize.

After hearing the news, Sara was beside herself with worry.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: preposition/1

All four words place one thing close to another, but they differ in feel and use. 'Next to' is the most everyday choice in speech and writing — say 'next to the window' for any neutral situation. 'Beside' sounds slightly more careful or written, and often suggests a person sitting or standing close for company: 'She sat beside her grandmother.' 'Alongside' suggests two things lined up parallel and often moving together, so it is common with cars, ships, and people walking ('a boat sailed alongside the ferry'). 'By' is the shortest and most casual, useful for quick directions ('the keys are by the phone') but less precise about whether the things actually touch.

beside ↗next toalongside ↗by ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • beside the bed
  • beside the door
  • beside the road
  • beside the river
  • beside the point

Adverbs

  • right beside
  • just beside
  • directly beside
  • quite beside

Phrases

  • sit beside
  • stand beside
  • walk beside
  • lie beside
  • beside the point
  • beside oneself

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Comes from Old English 'be sidan', literally 'by the side', formed from 'be' (by) and 'sidan' (the side). The two parts joined into one word in Middle English. From the basic 'next to' meaning, English later extended it to comparison ('small beside the rest') and to the idea of irrelevance, fixed in the phrase 'beside the point', which has been common since the 1500s. The form 'besides', with an extra '-s', split off as a separate word meaning 'in addition to'.