in the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me.-on; along; in traversing. compare 5.-near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side of; past; as, to go by a church.-used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty feet by forty.-against.-with, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take by force.-near; in the neighborhood; present; as, there was no person by at the time.-passing near; going past; past; beyond; as, the procession has gone by; a bird flew by.-aside; as, to lay by; to put by.-out of the common path; aside; -- used in composition, giving the meaning of something aside, secondary, or incidental, or collateral matter, a thing private or avoiding notice; as, by-line, by-place, by-play, by-street. it was formerly more freely used in composition than it is now; as, by-business, by-concernment, by-design, by-interest, etc.