How to Use by in a Sentence

by

1 of 3 preposition
  • They have a house by the lake.
  • Some friends stopped by our house for a chat.
  • The bus went right by him without stopping.
  • His wife was sitting by him.
  • Why don't you come by my place later?
  • Don't be fooled by an ocean that looks calm.
    — Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 7 Jan. 2026
  • It’s possessed by a sexy ghost.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Blue was well aware of the large droplets produced by singing.
    — Calli McMurray, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2022
  • The man grabbed the sister by the hair and pulled her to the ground.
    — Bob Sandrick, cleveland, 22 July 2023
  • The man who was her rock said he's now shattered by this grief.
    — Jermont Terry, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Bella was pinned by Perez two weeks in a row.
    — Fernando Quiles Jr, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Which team can handle one loss, and which team might be done in by it?
    — Doug Lesmerises, oregonlive, 14 July 2021
  • There were four lead changes and neither team led by more than 5.
    — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Right now, only one can be seen by the public.
    — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 24 Feb. 2026
  • This means utilities and food are used more by them than by me.
    — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026
  • The Knicks won Game 6 by 51 points.
    — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 1 May 2026
  • Chicago has speed bottled up by now.
    — Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Shots were fired by the robbers, but no one was injured.
    — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Stephanopoulos asked Vance—by my count, the first of five times.
    — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The air is scented with the aroma of pitch pines warmed by the low sun.
    — Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
  • People may stop by at any time to walk through the flags and pay tribute.
    — Teri Webster, Dallas News, 9 Nov. 2020
  • The use-by date can’t be more than 45 days from the packing date.
    — Merve Ceylan, Health, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Blyth is survived by her children.
    — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
  • The Nuggets won his 16 minutes by two.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026
  • It’s getting picked up by cable.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Then lost to Houston by 14 points.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
  • And with one out, Luisangel Acuña got hit by a pitch.
    — Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
  • The best way to do that is by taking fewer people afield at a time.
    — Joe Genzel, Outdoor Life, 12 Jan. 2021
  • No, the damage here won’t be suffered by Comey.
    — Billy Ray, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The Nuggets didn’t appear bothered enough by it.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026

by

2 of 3 adverb
  • The bus went right by without stopping.
  • Why don't you come by later?
  • We stood and applauded as the parade went by.
  • Then a man in a suit walked by.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Buzz and Batch are long gone by then.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Goats and sheep look up from a munch to watch a car drive by.
    — Jill Barth, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2021
  • This season seemed to just fly by.
    — Alex Kushel, Sun Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2026
  • Sales of wine and beer rose as well, though not by quite as much.
    — Karen Kaplan Science and Medicine Editor, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2021
  • Keaschall watched both four-seamers fly by for strikes.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 19 May 2026
  • Dozens of books, by and about them, have been published.
    — Mimi Pond, People.com, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Time has flown by and so much has changed and so much has happened.
    — Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 23 Feb. 2024
  • Months went by, and there was no end to the travel ban in sight.
    — Ellen Carmichael, National Review, 15 July 2021
  • So, when a full-sized pineapple walked by, our heads were turned.
    — Mara Severin, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2021
  • Kids and their parents join the group on their own bikes when the pack rolls by.
    — Adrienne So, WIRED, 27 Jan. 2023
  • Neither of us have anything to go by.
    — Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Summer is one of those seasons that can seem to fly by.
    — Sara Schilling, Idaho Statesman, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Bett did so just as an official walked by, too.
    — Don Yaeger, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Why not stop by, pick up a tag and shop for someone who needs help this year.
    — cleveland, 5 Dec. 2022
  • Three trucks drove by and our kid was terrified.
    — Kate Kassin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 6 Feb. 2026
  • It’s supposed to be of, by and for the people.
    — Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 5 Dec. 2025
  • For me, the hours spent baking and mixing flew by.
    — Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The decades fly by but the emotion never changes.
    — Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Their lonely whistles are faint echoes of a rich time gone by.
    — Frank Batavick, Baltimore Sun, 25 Sep. 2022
  • Sabit sat for the interview, but months went by with no news.
    — Raffi Khatchadourian, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2021
  • Next year’s results are on track to improve, but not by much.
    — Nitasha Tiku, WIRED, 25 May 2017
  • Commuters drove by at a usual pace.
    — Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 11 Oct. 2025
  • At least, that’s if their stock filings are anything to go by.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024
  • Video of the ride showed the crack in the beam as cars packed with with riders whizzed by.
    — CBS News, 3 July 2023
  • Years pass by, pandemic shuts down and those two years come and go.
    — William E. Ketchum Iii, Billboard, 23 Nov. 2022
  • One crew who saw smoke while driving by arrived on the scene first.
    — Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2025

by

3 of 3 noun
  • Among passers-by, fur coats are in fashion.
    — Ruth Sherlock, NPR, 22 Mar. 2026
  • As the passer-by drove off, the man hit his car with the tool.
    — Bay City News, The Mercury News, 21 June 2019
  • Her care for our son is way far greater than mine — on a minute-by-minute basis.
    — Kevin Acee, sandiegouniontribune.com, 13 May 2018
  • The writers are on stand-by in case any last minute conflicts arise.
    — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, 19 Mar. 2018
  • In the headphones of random passers-by.
    — Photovogue, Vogue, 11 June 2026
  • Police said dozens of shots rang out in a drive-by and many of them struck the hotel.
    — Carol Robinson, AL.com, 16 Jan. 2018
  • Do a drive-by to check line length before parking and going in.
    — Naomi Thomas and Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 2 Nov. 2020
  • What about when the patient load at the hospital is on drive-by?
    — David Taylor, Houston Chronicle, 8 Aug. 2020
  • The shots were fired from outside the home in an apparent drive-by.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 16 Oct. 2021
  • This health and safety measure within the by-laws will not be waived.
    — Cameron Knight, Cincinnati.com, 13 Mar. 2020
  • They were mobbed by passers-by and a group of around 25 journalists.
    — Washington Post, 8 June 2018
  • The species made up nearly 15 percent of all the rays in the by-catch.
    — Priyanka Runwal, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Nov. 2021
  • Just beyond Toiny, as the coastal road starts to turn inland, park in a small lay-by.
    — David Jefferys, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Apr. 2018
  • Nassau Inn is an old stand-by for alumni, just blocks from campus.
    — Calder Quinn, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Sep. 2017
  • The current sign is small and often goes unnoticed by passers-by.
    — Brian Ballou, Sun-Sentinel.com, 8 Jan. 2018
  • Natural gas is a by-product from wells drilled to pump more-valuable oil.
    — Kevin Crowley, Bloomberg.com, 4 Nov. 2020
  • Police did say in a tweet late Sunday that the shooting was not a drive-by.
    — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 2 Oct. 2017
  • The by-far best player in this playoff series hasn’t been the best player.
    — Dave Hyde, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Sep. 2020
  • The resulting data can be crunched to create a minute-by-minute record of your life.
    — The Economist, 31 May 2018
  • If the weather is inclement, guests may drive-by to pick up a bag of goodies curbside.
    — courant.com, 15 Oct. 2020
  • The week before his bar mitzvah, his friends took part in a drive-by to celebrate him.
    — Sergio Carmona, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Apr. 2021
  • That’s, uh, a huge range—and this is where that minute-by-minute data would’ve really come in handy.
    — Lindsey Lanquist, SELF, 14 June 2018
  • In the courtyard outside the studio his paintings stand in the sun, to be viewed by passers-by.
    — The Economist, 14 Sep. 2017
  • The unique shape, Hung said, will hopefully intrigue passers-by to come and shop.
    — Phillip Molnar, sandiegouniontribune.com, 23 Mar. 2018
  • Cole fired several rounds at the pair in a drive-by, according to police.
    — Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 10 June 2022
  • In 2111, the probe will have a fly-by near the planet that lasts about two minutes.
    — Steven Litt, cleveland, 6 Dec. 2020
  • The report gives a minute-by-minute account of the struggle to save lives in the berthing where sailors were sleeping.
    — Gordon Lubold, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2017
  • The displays have drawn both support and outrage from churchgoers and passers-by.
    — Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2019
  • Most of the casualties were passers-by and traders, Hussein said.
    — Abdi Guled, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2018
  • Eagen ran with Craig's ideas, hoping to give Blanc something that felt a bit more of a time gone-by.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 24 Nov. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'by.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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