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By vs Then - What's the difference?

by | then |

As nouns the difference between by and then

is that by is bee (insect) while then is that time.

As a verb by

is .

As an adverb then is

(label) at that time.

As an adjective then is

being so at that time.

As a conjunction then is

.

by

English

(wikipedia by)

Alternative forms

* bye (archaic for preposition and adverb, not used for abbreviation, preferred for noun and interjection)

Preposition

(English prepositions)
  • 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= 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.}}
  • (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:
  • 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.
  • (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, p.16:
  • Players: Can we get there by candlelight? ¶ Gatekeepers: Yes and back again.
  • * 1960 , , (One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish)
  • By' the light of the moon, / ' by the light of a star / they walked all night
  • (senseid).
  • (Indicates the amount of some progression): With a change of.
  • (Indicates a referenced source): According to.
  • (Indicates an oath): With the authority of.
  • 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 side

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Along a path which runs by the speaker.
  • I watched as it passed by .
  • In the vicinity, near.
  • There was a shepherd close by .
    The shop is hard by the High Street.
  • * Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
  • [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
  • To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.
  • I'll stop by on my way home from work.
    We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave.
  • Aside, away.
  • 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 * bypass

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Out of the way, subsidiary.
  • Antonyms

    * main, principal

    Derived terms

    * bypass * byroad * bystander * byway

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (card games) A pass
  • Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • then

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (label) At that time.
  • :
  • *Bible, (w) xii. 6
  • *:And the Canaanite was then in the land.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be inseparable from genius, and which struck my attention in after days when I came in contact with the Celebrity.}}
  • (label) Soon afterward.
  • :
  • :
  • *Bible, (w) v. 24
  • *:First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
  • *
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=Then' there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and ' then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season.}}
  • (label) Next in order; in addition.
  • :
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway, and the light of the reflector fell full upon her.}}
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Finland spreads word on schools , passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then , without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}
  • (label) In that case.
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • (label) At the same time; on the other hand.
  • :
  • (label) At the time that; when.
  • *1485 , Sir (Thomas Malory), (w, Le Morte d'Arthur)'', Book I.23, reprinted 1817, Sir Thomas Malory, (William Caxton), ''Morte d'Arthur: The Byrth, Lyf, and Actes of Kyng Arthur , Volume 1, page 37:
  • *:Than the knyght sawe hym lye soo on the ground, he alyght and was passynge heuy, for he wende he had slayne hym.
  • Used to contradict an assertion.
  • *2001 , (Eric Malpass), At the Height of the Moon , page 28,
  • *:‘She says Indian elephants are tidgy little things.’ ¶ ‘They?re not then .’ Emma was getting heated. ‘They?re –’ ¶ ‘Emma!’ said Jenny sharply. The child subsided.
  • Synonyms

    * (soon afterward) and then, and so, subsequently, so * (next in order) and then

    Adjective

    (-)
  • being so at that time
  • See also

    * by then * just then * now and then * there and then * until then

    Noun

    (head)
  • That time
  • It will be finished before then .

    Conjunction

    (head)
  • Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    *