beside

B3E1S1I1D2E1
UK/bɪˈsaɪd/US/biˈsaɪd/US/bəˈsaɪd//bɪˈsʌɪd/

preposition

Next to; at the side of.

“A small table beside the bed”

Opposite
aside
OriginMiddle English beside ← Old English be sīdan →
CommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

preposition
  1. Next to; at the side of.

    A small table beside the bed

  2. Not relevant to.

    For quotations using this term, see Citations:beside.

    1 more example

    That is beside the point / beside the topic / beside the subject / beside the focus of this discussion.

  3. Besides; in addition to.

    I'll need another dictionary beside this one.

    Antonyms: aside

adverbbeside (not comparable)
  1. literarynot comparablepoeticOtherwise; else; in addition; besides.

    To all beside, as much an empty shade, An Eugene living, as a Caesar dead.

    1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC
    3 more examples

    April 8 1805, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "Orange Blossom" O how the honey tells the tale of its birthplace to the sense of sight and odour! and to how many minute and uneyeable insects beside!

    Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

    1817 (published 11 January 1818), Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Sonnet. Ozymandias.”, in Rosalind and Helen, a Modern Eclogue; with Other Poems, London: […] [C. H. Reynell] for C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier, […], published 1819, →OCLC, page 92

    Eternal form shall still divide ⁠The eternal soul from all beside; And I shall know him when we meet: […]

    1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XLVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 69

Synonyms & antonyms

prepositionBesides; in addition to.

Opposite
aside
Also see
alongsidein addition to

Origin

  1. Old Englishbe sīdan
  2. Middle Englishbeside
  3. Englishbeside

From Middle English beside, besiden, bisyde (also besides > besides), from Old English be sīdan, bī sīdan (“by the side (of), on the side (of)”). Compare Saterland Frisian biesiede (“aside”), German Low German bisied (“aside”), German beiseite (“aside, to one side”). Compare also Dutch terzijde (“aside”). By surface analysis, be- + side.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch naast
  • naastnot relevant to
French outre
  • outrenot relevant to
German neben
  • nebennot relevant to
Greek εκτός
  • εκτός (ektós)not relevant to
Norwegian på siden
  • på sidennot relevant to
Polish poza
  • pozanot relevant to
Portuguese irrelevante para
  • irrelevante paranot relevant to
Russian поми́мо
  • поми́мо (pomímo)not relevant to
Slovak mimo
  • mimonot relevant to

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with beside

saidguideprovidesideinsideoutsideworldwideappliedtrieddecidenationwideprideasidetiedimpliedbrideidestatewideeyedalliedtidedividedriedfried
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

beside. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beside

MLA

“beside.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beside. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beside,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beside.

Source: beside on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.