What is the difference between by and near?
by | near |
Near or next to.
At some time before (the given time), or before the end of a given time interval.
(Indicates the actor in a clause with its verb in the passive voice): Through the action or presence of.
* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 28, author=Jon Smith, work=BBC Sport
, title= (Indicates the creator of a work): Existing through the authorship etc. of.
(Indicates the cause of a condition or event): Through the action of, caused by, responsibility for; by dint of.
* 1874 , (Thomas Hardy), (Far from the Madding Crowd) , 2005 Barnes & Noble Classics publication of 1912 Wessex edition, p.109:
(Indicates a means): Involving/using the means of.
*
*:"I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." ¶ "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by —except steal."
(Indicates a source of light): Medium emanating from hot sources.
* 1945 , Neva L. Boyd, Handbook of Recreational Games , 1975 edition, ISBN 0486232042,
* 1960 , , (One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish)
(senseid).
(Indicates the amount of some progression): With a change of.
(Indicates a referenced source): According to.
(Indicates an oath): With the authority of.
Along a path which runs by the speaker.
In the vicinity, near.
* Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.
Aside, away.
Out of the way, subsidiary.
Physically close.
* Dryden
Closely connected or related.
* Bible, Leviticus xviii. 12
Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; intimate; dear.
Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling.
So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow.
(of an event) Approaching.
Approximate, almost.
(dated) Next to the driver, when he is on foot; (US) on the left of an animal or a team.
(obsolete) Immediate; direct; close; short.
* Milton
(obsolete, slang) Stingy; parsimonious.
Having a small intervening distance with regard to something.
(colloquial) nearly
* 1666 Samuel Pepys Diary and Correspondence (1867)
* 1825 David Hume, Tobias George Smollett The History of England p. 263
* 2003 Owen Parry Honor's Kingdom p. 365
* 2004 Jimmy Buffett A Salty Piece of Land p. 315, p. 35
* 2006 Juliet Marillier The Dark Mirror p. 377
Close to, in close proximity to.
* 1820 , (Mary Shelley), :
* , chapter=17
, title= * 1927 , , :
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-16, author=
, volume=189, issue=10, page=8, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= Close to in time.
As prepositions the difference between by and near
is that by is near or next to while near is close to, in close proximity to.As adverbs the difference between by and near
is that by is along a path which runs by the speaker while near is having a small intervening distance with regard to something.As adjectives the difference between by and near
is that by is out of the way, subsidiary while near is physically close.As nouns the difference between by and near
is that by is a pass while near is the left side of a horse or of a team of horses pulling a carriage etc.As an interjection by
is an alternative spelling of lang=en.As a verb near is
to come closer to; to approach.by
English
(wikipedia by)Alternative forms
* bye (archaic for preposition and adverb, not used for abbreviation, preferred for noun and interjection)Preposition
(English prepositions)Valencia 1-1 Chelsea, passage=Valencia threatened sporadically in the first half with Miguel having a decent effort deflected wide by Ashley Cole, while Jordi Alba's near-post cross was flicked into the sidenetting by Pablo Hernandez.}}
- In other directions the fields and sky were so much of one colour by the snow that it was difficult in a hasty glance to tell whereabouts the horizon occurred.
p.16:
- Players: Can we get there by candlelight? ¶ Gatekeepers: Yes and back again.
- By' the light of the moon, / ' by the light of a star / they walked all night
Derived terms
* bit by bit * by degrees * by dint of * by one's lonesome * by oneself * by means of * by rights * by the book * by the by * by the bye * by the way * by your leave * by way of * do good by * do right by * hard by * side by sideAdverb
(-)- I watched as it passed by .
- There was a shepherd close by .
- The shop is hard by the High Street.
- [The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by ; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk
- I'll stop by on my way home from work.
- We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave.
- The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.
Derived terms
* by the by * drop by * full and by * nearby * pass by * passerby * put by * right by * stand by * stop by * bypassAdjective
(-)Antonyms
* main, principalDerived terms
* bypass * byroad * bystander * bywaynear
English
Synonyms
* near sideAntonyms
* off sideSee also
* nearsideAdjective
(er)- He served great Hector, and was ever near , / Not with his trumpet only, but his spear.
- She is thy father's near kinswoman.
- a near friend
- a version near to the original
- a near escape
- The end is near .
- The two words are near synonyms.
- the near''' ox; the '''near leg
- the nearest way
Antonyms
* remoteDerived terms
* near abroad * near-death experience * near-Earth object * Near East * near infrared * near-minimal pair * near miss * near the knuckle * nearly * nearnessAdverb
(er)- I'm near -sighted.
- ...he hears for certain that the Queen-Mother is about and hath near finished a peace with France....
- Sir John Friend had very near completed a regiment of horse.
- Thinking about those pounds and pence, I near forgot my wound.
- "I damn near forgot." He pulled an envelope from his jacket.
- The fire was almost dead, the chamber near dark.
Derived terms
* nearsightedPreposition
(English prepositions)- He entered the inn, and asking for dinner, unbuckled his wallet, and sat down to rest himself near the door.
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything.}}
- It shied, balked, and whinnied, and in the end he could do nothing but drive it into the yard while the men used their own strength to get the heavy wagon near enough the hayloft for convenient pitching.
John Vidal
Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas, passage=Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.}}
Usage notes
Joan Maling (1983) shows that near'' is best analysed as an adjective with which the use of ''to'' is optional, rather than a preposition. It has the comparative and the superlative, and it can be followed by ''enough''. The use of ''to however is usually British.Antonyms
* far fromSee also
* (wikipedia) * para- * nighReferences
* Joan Maling (1983),Transitive Adjectives: A Case of Categorial Reanalysis'', in F. Henry and B. Richards (eds.), ''Linguistic Categories: Auxiliaries and Related Puzzles , vol.1, pp. 253-289.
