by-product

noun

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

"by-product" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“by-product” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something made incidentally during the production of something else.

Key facts for by-product
PropertyValue
Headwordby-product
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “by-product” sits in English frequency

by-product falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

by-product is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for by-product in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From by- + product. The correct English form is by-product, spelled B-Y---P-R-O-D-U-C-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Something made incidentally during the production of something else.
  2. 2
    A consequence, especially a side effect.

Etymology

From by- + product.

This word in other languages

subproducto(Español)sous-produit(Français)Nebenprodukt(Deutsch)subproduto(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "by-product"?
"by-product" is spelled B-Y---P-R-O-D-U-C-T.
What does "by-product" mean?
As a noun, "by-product" means: Something made incidentally during the production of something else.
What is the origin of the word "by-product"?
From by- + product. 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.

Using “by-product”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-Y---P-R-O-D-U-C-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list