Beside or Besides | Meaning, Difference & Examples
Beside is a preposition meaning “next to” (e.g., “Sit beside me”) or “compared to” (e.g., “My project seems amateur beside yours”). Besides is a preposition meaning “in addition to” or “other than” (e.g., “I have many goals besides graduating”).
However, “besides” (with an “s”) can also function as an adverb that introduces an additional comment (e.g., “I’m tired; besides, it’s too late to go”).
| Examples: Beside in a sentence | Examples: Besides in a sentence |
|---|---|
| Walk beside me so we can chat for a bit. | Let’s do something else besides that. |
| The rewards seem small beside the risks. | Besides Italy, there are many countries I want to visit. |
| Can you please place this beside the desk? | I don’t want to go, and besides, the shop is closed. |
Beside meaning
“Beside” is a preposition (i.e., a part of speech that describes the relationship between two parts of a phrase or sentence) that means “next to or by the side of somebody or something.” Additionally, “beside” can be used to make comparisons.
| Examples: Using beside meaning next to | Examples: Using beside to compare |
|---|---|
| Place the utensils beside the plates. | My artwork looks silly beside yours. |
| The plants should be beside one another. | Her car looks tiny beside his truck. |
| Please stand beside me, not in front of me. | The phone seems old beside the new one. |
Beside the point
“Beside the point” is an idiom that describes something as unimportant or unrelated to what is being discussed. It is incorrect to say “besides the point.”
- He brought up the cost, but that’s beside the point.
- He brought up the cost, but that’s besides the point.
Beside oneself
“Beside oneself” is an expression that describes someone as feeling intense emotions, such as excitement. The phrase can vary depending on the subject (e.g., “beside myself,” “beside herself,” “beside himself”).
I was beside myself with joy when I heard the good news.
Joanna was beside herself with anger when she heard about the injustice.
Tim was beside himself with happiness because of the surprise party.
Besides meaning
“Besides” (with an “s”) can function as a preposition or as an adverb.
As a preposition, “besides” means “in addition to” or “other than.” As an adverb, “besides” means “also” or “moreover” and is used to introduce an additional statement, but it can also mean “otherwise.”
| Use | Examples |
|---|---|
| Besides as a preposition meaning in addition to | Besides dancing, Chloe also likes singing and painting. |
| Besides as a preposition meaning other than | There was no one else at the party besides her cousins. |
| Besides as an adverb meaning moreover | I’m really hungry. Besides, I’m not a picky eater. |
| Besides as an adverb meaning otherwise | There was pizza and pasta, but not much besides. |
Frequently asked questions about beside or besides
- Is it beside the point or besides the point?
-
The correct phrase is “beside the point.”
“Beside the point” describes something as “unimportant to the matters being discussed” (e.g., “She claimed that what I said was beside the point”).
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- What does besides that mean?
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“Besides that” (with an “s”) is a phrase that means “other than that” (e.g., “I know you want to swim, but is there anything you hope to do besides that?”).
Remember, “beside” (without an “s”) functions as a preposition that means “next to.” When someone says, “beside that,” as in “can you place the book beside that,” they are asking for you to place the book next to something else.
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