Search

by or at the side of; near:
Sit down beside me.
compared with:
Beside him other writers seem amateurish.
apart from; not connected with:
beside the point; beside the question.
besides (defs 4, 5).
along the side of something:
The family rode in the carriage, and the dog ran along beside.
besides (def 2).
beside oneself, almost out of one’s senses from a strong emotion, as from joy, delight, anger, fear, or grief:
He was beside himself with rage when the train left without him.
Contemporary Examples

Whether such a measure actually becomes law is beside the point.
The GOP’s Deficit Bluff Matt Miller June 17, 2009

Bumper stickers have even been printed that say “No to the murtazeqa,” beside a silhouette of a man wearing a yellow hardhat.
Libya’s Hysteria Over African Mercenaries Babak Dehghanpisheh March 5, 2011

In this cozy twosome, digitally pinky-linking, plot is beside the point.
‘50 Shades of Grey,’ a Self-Published E-Book, Is the Future of Publishing Lizzie Skurnick March 16, 2012

This was beside the point, Breitbart argued, because ACORN was “caught red-handed.”
Andrew Breitbart Dies: Most Controversial Moments (Video) The Daily Beast February 29, 2012

beside I happen to know that my approval ratings are still very high in the country of my birth.
Obama Trounces Leno Lloyd Grove May 1, 2010

Historical Examples

And yet, to do away with this beside him and put in its place—What?
The Freelands John Galsworthy

beside it were bottles, phials, and other appliances of a sick chamber.
Life in London Edwin Hodder

beside his furnace he had his laboratory at the foot of Bloody tower.
Sir Walter Ralegh William Stebbing

Not from the street, for all beside was still; even the roar of London was hushed!
Weighed and Wanting George MacDonald

And beside the dais was a figure between two crocodilian guards at sight of whom Randall forgot all else.
Astounding Stories, April, 1931 Various

preposition
next to; at, by, or to the side of
as compared with
away from; wide of: beside the point
(archaic) besides
beside oneself, (postpositive) often foll by with. overwhelmed; overwrought: beside oneself with grief
adverb
at, by, to, or along the side of something or someone
prep.

Old English be sidan “by the side of” (only as two words), from be- + sidan dative of side (n.). By 1200, formed as one word and used as both adverb and preposition. The alternative Middle English meaning “outside” led to the sense preserved in beside oneself “out of one’s wits” (late 15c.).