# by vs byte

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### by
*preposition · IPA /baɪ/ · frequency rank #24*
Near or next to.

### byte
*noun · IPA /baɪt/ · frequency rank #23,771*
A short sequence of bits (binary digits) that can be operated on as a unit by a computer; the smallest usable machine word.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/by-vs-byte