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I Show Baɪ House Travel Somebody/Something Time Preposition

Word3 by
WordType (preposition)
Phonetic /baɪ/ /baɪ/
Example
  • the house is heated by gas.
  • may i pay by credit card?
  • i will contact you by letter.
  • to travel by boat/bus/car/plane
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Content

by

(preposition)/baɪ/ /baɪ/
  1. used for showing how or in what way something is done
    • The house is heated by gas.
    • May I pay by credit card?
    • I will contact you by letter.
    • to travel by boat/bus/car/plane
    • to travel by air/land/sea
    • Switch it on by pressing this button.
  2. near somebody/something; at the side of somebody/something; next to somebody/something
    • a house by the river
    • The telephone is by the window.
    • Come and sit by me.
  3. used, usually after a passive verb, to show who or what does, creates or causes something
    • He was knocked down by a bus.
    • a play by Ibsen
    • Who's that book by?
    • I was frightened by the noise.
  4. not later than the time mentioned; before
    • Can you finish the work by five o'clock?
    • I'll have it done by tomorrow.
    • By this time next week we'll be in New York.
    • He ought to have arrived by now/by this time.
    • By the time (that) this letter reaches you I will have left the country.
  5. used before particular nouns without the, to say that something happens as a result of something
    • They met by chance.
    • I did it by mistake.
    • The coroner's verdict was ‘death by misadventure’.
  6. used to show the degree or amount of something
    • The bullet missed him by two inches.
    • House prices went up by 10%.
    • It would be better by far (= much better) to…
  7. during something; in a particular situation
    • to travel by day/night
    • We had to work by candlelight.
  8. from what something shows or says; according to something
    • By my watch it is two o'clock.
    • I could tell by the look on her face that something terrible had happened.
    • By law, you are a child until you are 18.
  9. past somebody/something
    • He walked by me without speaking.
  10. used to show the part of somebody/something that somebody touches, holds, etc.
    • I took him by the hand.
    • She seized her by the hair.
    • Pick it up by the handle!
  11. used with the to show the period or quantity used for buying, selling or measuring something
    • We rented the car by the day.
    • They're paid by the hour.
    • We only sell it by the metre.
  12. used to state the rate at which something happens
    • They're improving day by day.
    • We'll do it bit by bit.
    • It was getting worse by the minute (= very fast).
    • The children came in two by two (= in groups of two).
  13. used to show the measurements of something
    • The room measures fifteen feet by twenty feet.
  14. used when multiplying or dividing
    • 6 multiplied by 2 equals 12.
    • 6 divided by 2 equals 3.
  15. used for giving more information about where somebody comes from, what somebody does, etc.
    • He's German by birth.
    • They're both doctors by profession.
  16. used when swearing to mean ‘in the name of’
    • I swear by Almighty God…
  17. used to introduce a comment or question that is not directly related to what you have been talking about
  18. Word Origin

    • Old English bī, bi, be, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bij and German bei.
Copyright This card's content is collected from the following dictionaries: Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

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