thereby

T1H4E1R1E1B3Y4
US/ðɛɹˈbaɪ/UK/ðɛəˈbaɪ/

adverb

By it; by that; by that means, or as a consequence of that.

“I enrolled in Old English classes and thereby learned much about Germanic languages.”

CommonScrabble 15

Meanings

adverbthereby (not comparable)
  1. formalnot comparableBy it; by that; by that means, or as a consequence of that.

    I enrolled in Old English classes and thereby learned much about Germanic languages.

    4 more examples

    Thirdly, Whereas the Maintenance of an hundred thouſand Children, from two Years old, and upwards, cannot be computed at leſs than Ten Shillings a piece per Annum, the Nation's ſtock will be thereby encreaſed fifty thouſand pounds per Annum, beſides the profit of a new Diſh, introduced to the Tables of all Gentlemen of Fortune in the Kingdom, who have any refinement in Taſte, and the Money will circulate among our ſelves, the Goods being entirely of our own Growth and Manufacture.

    1729, [Jonathan Swift], A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to Their Parents, or the Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick, Dublin: […] S[arah] Harding, […], →OCLC, pages 11–12

    This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

    1787, United States Constitution, Article VI, (Please provide the book title or journal name)

    Smoking is a form of self-inflicted injury and is thereby prohibited by Jewish law.

    2000, David Golinkin, “Is Smoking Prohibited By Jewish Law”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 3, page 94

    For it would surely improve the domestic standing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an unbudgeable hawk, and thereby indefinitely delay peace on that Middle Eastern front.

    2009 October 1, “Answering Iran’s Nuclear Challenge”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2022

    Synonyms: therefore, eo ipso

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbBy it; by that; by that means, or as a consequence of that.

Also see

Origin

  1. Old Englishðǣrbig
  2. Middle Englishtherby
  3. Englishthereby

From Middle English therby, from Old English ðǣrbig, equivalent to there + by. Compare the parallel formation of German dabei.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans sodoende
  • sodoendeby that
Bulgarian така, по такъв начин
  • така (taka)by that
  • по такъв начин (po takăv način)by that
Chinese Mandarin 從而 /从而, 因此
  • 從而 /从而 (cóng'ér)by that
  • 因此 (yīncǐ)by that
  • 以此 (yǐcǐ)by that
Dutch daarbij
  • daarbijby that
Esperanto pro tio
  • pro tioby that
Finnish siten
  • sitenby that
French ainsi, de ce fait
  • ainsiby that
  • de ce faitby that
  • par làby that
German dadurch, damit
  • dadurchby that
  • damitby that
  • deswegenby that
  • darumby that
  • deshalbby that
Greek ως εκ τούτου
  • ως εκ τούτου (os ek toútou)by that
Hungarian ezáltal, általa
  • ezáltalby that
  • általaby that
  • ennélfogvaby that
Italian in tal modo, perciò
  • in tal modoby that
  • perciòby that
  • pertantoby that
Japanese それによって, そのために
  • それによって (sore ni yotte)by that
  • そのために (sono tame ni)by that
Māori nō reira
  • nō reiraby that
Norwegian Bokmål derved
  • dervedby that
Polish tym samym
  • tym samymby that
Portuguese com isso, assim
  • com issoby that
  • assimby that
  • desta formaby that
  • dessa formaby that
  • por issoby that
Russian таки́м о́бразом, тем са́мым
  • таки́м о́бразом (takím óbrazom)by that
  • тем са́мымby that
Spanish así, de ese modo
  • asíby that
  • de ese modoby that
Swedish därmed, därigenom
  • därmedby that
  • därigenomby that
Ukrainian таки́м чи́ном
  • таки́м чи́ном (takým čýnom)by that
Urdu اس کے علاوہ
  • اس کے علاوہ (is ke ilāva)by that

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with thereby

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

thereby. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thereby

MLA

“thereby.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thereby. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thereby,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thereby.

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