next to; at, by, or to the side of as compared with away from; wide of besides - beside oneself ⇒ (postpositive) often followed by with:
overwhelmed; overwrought: beside oneself with grief
at, by, to, or along the side of something or someone
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
be•side /bɪˈsaɪd/USA pronunciation
prep.
adv.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- by the side of;
near: Sit down beside me. - compared with: Beside her, other writers seem amateurish.
- not relevant to: Your argument is beside the point.
- besides (defs. 4, 5).
adv.
- along the side of something: We walked, and the dog ran along beside.
- Idiomsbeside oneself, [be + ~ + with] frantic;
feeling strong emotion about:She was beside herself with fury.
- To express the prepositional meanings "over and above,'' "in addition to,'' and "except,'' besides is preferred tobeside, esp. in careful writing. However, beside sometimes occurs with these meanings as well, even in formal writing.
be•side
(bi sīd′),USA pronunciation prep.
adv.
- 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).
- Idioms 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.
adv.
- along the side of something:The family rode in the carriage, and the dog ran along beside.
- besides (def. 2).
- bef. 1000; Middle English; earlier bi-siden, Old English bī sīdan, be sīdan; see be-, side
- For the prepositional meanings "over and above, in addition to'' and "except'' besides is preferred, especially in edited writing:Besides these honors he received a sum of money.We heard no other sound besides the breaking surf.However, beside sometimes occurs with these meanings as well.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'set beside' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):