by

/baɪ/

//baɪ// prep

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"by" is a 2-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“by” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #24) as a preposition. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#24
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Near or next to.

Corpus desk

Index EN-by · by · English

by · rank #24 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #24
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH not

Nearest frequency peer: not (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “by”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “by” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

by vs bye
67% similar
by vs BYU
0% similar
by vs byte
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for by
PropertyValue
Headwordby
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPreposition
IPA/baɪ/
Letters2
Frequency rank#24
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “by” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).bylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “not” (#23), “but” (#25), “he” (#22). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for by is neighbouring look-alikes ("bye", "BYU", …), not just typos; it is apreposition pronounced /baɪ/. Frequency #24 among 4,121 “B” headwords. 21 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for by in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bye", "BYU", "byte", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi. Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”… The correct English form is by, spelled B-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Near or next to.
  2. 2
    From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.
  3. 3
    Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval).
  4. 4
    Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
  5. 5
    Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
  6. 6
    Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
  7. 7
    Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.
  8. 8
    Indicates a means of achieving something: Involving/using the means of.
  9. 9
    Indicates an authority according to which something is done.
  10. 10
    Indicates an authority according to which something is done.
  11. 11
    Indicates a means of classification or organisation.
  12. 12
    Indicates the amount of change, difference or discrepancy
  13. 13
    In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another.
  14. 14
    [with the] Acted on in units of the specified size or measure. (Sometimes hyperbolically)
  15. 15
    Per; with or in proportion to each.
  16. 16
    Indicates a referenced source: According to.
  17. 17
    Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.
  18. 18
    multiplied by or (chiefly South Asia) divided by
  19. 19
    Designates a horse's sire (“male parent”).
  20. 20
    At; with; among.
  21. 21
    in a windward direction, sailing near to the direction from which the wind is blowing

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how by appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The mailbox is by the bus stop.
  2. The stream runs by our back door.

Etymology

From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi. Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).

This word in other languages

por(Español)à côté de(Français)bei(Deutsch)perto(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "by"?
"by" is spelled B-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /baɪ/.
What does "by" mean?
As a preposition, "by" means: Near or next to.
What words are commonly confused with "by"?
"by" is commonly confused with "bye", "BYU", "byte". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "by"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "by" is /baɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "by"?
From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi. Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at;... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

What to do next

You've looked up "by". Here's where to go from here.

  • "by" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "bye". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #24 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list