How to Use by in a Sentence

by

1 of 3 preposition
Definition of bynext
Synonyms for bynext
  • They have a house by the lake.
  • Some friends stopped by our house for a chat.
  • The bus went right by him without stopping.
  • His wife was sitting by him.
  • Why don't you come by my place later?
  • But the change has been backed in the past by Democrats.
    — Jackie Borchardt, The Enquirer, 21 Apr. 2021
  • The man grabbed the sister by the hair and pulled her to the ground.
    — Bob Sandrick, cleveland, 22 July 2023
  • These teams should be at the peak of their game by then.
    — Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic, 25 July 2021
  • The team was able to get water to them by the next day.
    — Shondiin Silversmith, The Arizona Republic, 12 Sep. 2020
  • Blue was well aware of the large droplets produced by singing.
    — Calli McMurray, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2022
  • The only scoring in the first half was a trio of field goals by Lutz.
    — Fox News, 23 Oct. 2023
  • People may stop by at any time to walk through the flags and pay tribute.
    — Teri Webster, Dallas News, 9 Nov. 2020
  • Which team can handle one loss, and which team might be done in by it?
    — Doug Lesmerises, oregonlive, 14 July 2021
  • The best way to do that is by taking fewer people afield at a time.
    — Joe Genzel, Outdoor Life, 12 Jan. 2021
  • Catch the best deals on the best products, picked by our editors.
    — Gear Team, Wired, 26 Jan. 2022
  • Lovell’s was the third news conference held by police this week to plead their case to the city.
    — oregonlive, 10 July 2020
  • The pool was built by then, and there's a vibe here that people really liked.
    — Maya Kachroo-Levine, Travel + Leisure, 26 July 2021
  • The last four players who led by five shots going into the weekend went on to win.
    — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 9 Apr. 2022
  • What followed was a medley of hits that traipsed by so quickly that some were easy to miss.
    — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 12 Feb. 2024
  • Times Square is one of many stores owned by Al Bartell.
    — Chanel Stitt, Detroit Free Press, 17 Oct. 2020
  • There is no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 7 June 2022
  • The Bear offense had by far its best performance of the season.
    — Rex Nelson, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2022
  • The series is named for the first book in a trio by author Jenny Han.
    — Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 31 Aug. 2022
  • Grouping items by function or season goes a long way in keeping things neat in the garage.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Aug. 2022
  • Submit your question by clicking on the 'ask now' button at the top and bottom of the page.
    — The Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2020
  • Some have risked their lives by taking snaps of themselves hanging from a cliff or from the side of a skyscraper.
    — cleveland, 17 Dec. 2021
  • Police said the pair fled from the vehicle and were gone by the time police arrived.
    — Clifford Ward, chicagotribune.com, 6 Aug. 2021
  • He was identified in the video by his tattoos, Sanders said.
    — Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 21 Nov. 2020
  • Players can reserve the courts by emailing info@fiftywestbrew.com.
    — Charles Infosino, The Enquirer, 9 June 2022
  • Iranians voted with their feet by not showing up at the polls.
    — CBS News, 20 June 2021
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by

2 of 3 adverb
  • The bus went right by without stopping.
  • Why don't you come by later?
  • We stood and applauded as the parade went by.
  • José leaned against a car and watched the crowds pass by.
    — Rekha Tenjarla, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2022
  • The women stop by twice a day to feed and check on them.
    — Allison Klein, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2018
  • But the months have flown by and the paper is piled high.
    — Bek Mitchell-Kidd, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024
  • Goats and sheep look up from a munch to watch a car drive by.
    — Jill Barth, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2021
  • Feature a drive through the area to show what's close by.
    — Forbes Biz Council Expert Panel, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2021
  • Loyola has the worst seed in the region but not by much.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, kansascity, 21 Mar. 2018
  • Video of the ride showed the crack in the beam as cars packed with with riders whizzed by.
    — CBS News, 3 July 2023
  • Months went by, and there was no end to the travel ban in sight.
    — Ellen Carmichael, National Review, 15 July 2021
  • Kids and their parents join the group on their own bikes when the pack rolls by.
    — Adrienne So, WIRED, 27 Jan. 2023
  • Sales of wine and beer rose as well, though not by quite as much.
    — Karen Kaplan Science and Medicine Editor, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2021
  • But the weeks and months went by, and nothing happened.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 26 Mar. 2021
  • No one seemed to walk by without glancing at the steps.
    — The Courier-Journal, 23 Apr. 2023
  • Close the drapes so the dog doesn’t see people walking by.
    — Karen Pearlman, sandiegouniontribune.com, 27 Oct. 2017
  • Until then, at least the billboards are fun to drive by.
    — Maggie Gordon, Houston Chronicle, 27 June 2018
  • Some neighbors stop by for a cup of sugar or a spare egg.
    — Laura Regensdorf, Vogue, 3 Aug. 2018
  • Sabit sat for the interview, but months went by with no news.
    — Raffi Khatchadourian, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2021
  • Their lonely whistles are faint echoes of a rich time gone by.
    — Frank Batavick, Baltimore Sun, 25 Sep. 2022
  • Why not stop by, pick up a tag and shop for someone who needs help this year.
    — cleveland, 5 Dec. 2022
  • As time has gone by, my husband and I have grown apart.
    — Annie Lane, cleveland, 11 Jan. 2023
  • So Love could be ahead of that timeline, but not by much.
    — Joe Vardon, cleveland.com, 14 Nov. 2017
  • Thirty-six years and lots of cases had gone by since then.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Feb. 2022
  • There are lots of friendly waves when people walk or drive by.
    — Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 July 2022
  • So, when a full-sized pineapple walked by, our heads were turned.
    — Mara Severin, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2021
  • Years pass by, pandemic shuts down and those two years come and go.
    — William E. Ketchum Iii, Billboard, 23 Nov. 2022
  • But tell you what: Any time a poodle or small dog walks by?
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 9 May 2023
  • There are cars that are sexier or faster, but not by much.
    — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, 12 Dec. 2018
  • Next year’s results are on track to improve, but not by much.
    — Nitasha Tiku, WIRED, 25 May 2017
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by

3 of 3 noun
  • As the passer-by drove off, the man hit his car with the tool.
    — Bay City News, The Mercury News, 21 June 2019
  • More than a decade ago, her son was shot in a drive-by.
    — Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2022
  • The by-laws also set the date to hold the annual meeting.
    — Howard Dakoff, chicagotribune.com, 10 Apr. 2022
  • But that's by the by for these rumour mongers, of course.
    — SI.com, 2 Oct. 2019
  • The shots were fired from outside the home in an apparent drive-by.
    — Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 16 Oct. 2021
  • Police said dozens of shots rang out in a drive-by and many of them struck the hotel.
    — Carol Robinson, AL.com, 16 Jan. 2018
  • What about when the patient load at the hospital is on drive-by?
    — David Taylor, Houston Chronicle, 8 Aug. 2020
  • The writers are on stand-by in case any last minute conflicts arise.
    — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, 19 Mar. 2018
  • Bryan Shelton said the shooting could have been a drive-by.
    — Jonece Starr Dunigan, AL.com, 29 May 2017
  • In the courtyard outside the studio his paintings stand in the sun, to be viewed by passers-by.
    — The Economist, 14 Sep. 2017
  • This health and safety measure within the by-laws will not be waived.
    — Cameron Knight, Cincinnati.com, 13 Mar. 2020
  • The species made up nearly 15 percent of all the rays in the by-catch.
    — Priyanka Runwal, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Nov. 2021
  • The report gives a minute-by-minute account of the struggle to save lives in the berthing where sailors were sleeping.
    — Gordon Lubold, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2017
  • Do a drive-by to check line length before parking and going in.
    — Naomi Thomas and Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 2 Nov. 2020
  • Her care for our son is way far greater than mine — on a minute-by-minute basis.
    — Kevin Acee, sandiegouniontribune.com, 13 May 2018
  • The by-far best player in this playoff series hasn’t been the best player.
    — Dave Hyde, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Sep. 2020
  • Police did say in a tweet late Sunday that the shooting was not a drive-by.
    — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 2 Oct. 2017
  • The resulting data can be crunched to create a minute-by-minute record of your life.
    — The Economist, 31 May 2018
  • The current sign is small and often goes unnoticed by passers-by.
    — Brian Ballou, Sun-Sentinel.com, 8 Jan. 2018
  • If the weather is inclement, guests may drive-by to pick up a bag of goodies curbside.
    — courant.com, 15 Oct. 2020
  • The week before his bar mitzvah, his friends took part in a drive-by to celebrate him.
    — Sergio Carmona, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Apr. 2021
  • Just beyond Toiny, as the coastal road starts to turn inland, park in a small lay-by.
    — David Jefferys, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Apr. 2018
  • The displays have drawn both support and outrage from churchgoers and passers-by.
    — Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2019
  • Cole fired several rounds at the pair in a drive-by, according to police.
    — Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 10 June 2022
  • Most of this natural gas has been essentially a by-product of the oil.
    — University Of Houston Energy Fellows, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2021
  • The unique shape, Hung said, will hopefully intrigue passers-by to come and shop.
    — Phillip Molnar, sandiegouniontribune.com, 23 Mar. 2018
  • Natural gas is a by-product from wells drilled to pump more-valuable oil.
    — Kevin Crowley, Bloomberg.com, 4 Nov. 2020
  • Most of the casualties were passers-by and traders, Hussein said.
    — Abdi Guled, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2018
  • Some of the pass routes were quick moving, with Wilson’s getting the ball out of his hand faster as a by-product.
    — oregonlive, 9 Aug. 2021
  • They were mobbed by passers-by and a group of around 25 journalists.
    — Washington Post, 8 June 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'by.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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