besides
UK/bɪˈsaɪdz//bɪˈsaɪdz/
besides preposition: in addition to.
Preposition
besides
- In addition to.
- Besides José, I'll invite Jay and Renée, the three of them.
- During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]1661, John Fell, “The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond”, quoted in Ecclesiastical Biography by Christopher Wordsworth, fourth edition, volume IV, London: Francis & John...
- Other than; except for; instead of.
- I don't want to go anywhere besides India.
- I want to go with someone besides my father.
- Synonyms:
- barring
- Beside, next to.
- And on the Sabbath day, we went out of the citie, beſides a riuer, where they were wont to pray : and we ſate downe, and ſpake vnto the women, which were come together.1561, Geneva Bible, Acts 16:13
- After this, was Edwin the Kings brother accuſed of ſome conſpiracie by him begun againſt the K. whervpõ he was baniſhed the land, and ſent out in an old rotten veſſell without rower or Marriner, onely accompanied with one Eſquire, ſo that beeing launched foorth from the ſhore, through very diſpaire...1577, Raphaell Holinshed, “The Historie of Englande”, in The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Harrison, →OCLC...
Adverb
besides (not comparable)
- Also; in addition.
- We've paid for your whole education and plenty more besides!
- It is besides used as a food, either as a sallad^([sic]), raw, or boiled as greens.1776, Thomas Pennant, A Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides, 1772
- Used to emphasize an additional point, especially an important or stronger reason; moreover; furthermore.
- I don't feel like going out tonight. Besides, I have to work tomorrow morning anyway.
- Otherwise; else.
- I have been to Spain but nowhere besides.
- On one side.
- You are so strongly in my purpose bred
That all the world besides methinks are dead1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 112”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC - Yet Teucer would another shaft, at Hectors life dispose;
So faine, he such a marke would hit: but still besides it goes;c. 1611, George Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer, London: Nathaniell Butter, Book 8, p. 111
- You are so strongly in my purpose bred
besides meaning in Hindi, Telugu, Arabic and Indonesian
besides in Hindi
- other than; except for
- के सिवाय ke sivāy, के अलावा ke alāvā, के अतिरिक्त ke atirikt
besides in Telugu
- also; in addition
- పైగా paigā
- moreover; furthermore
- పైగా paigā
besides in Arabic
- other than; except for
- إِلَّا ʔillā, بِٱسْتِثْنَاء bi-stiṯnāʔ
- moreover; furthermore
- عِلَاوَة عَلَى ذٰلِكَ ʕilāwa ʕalā ḏālika
besides in Indonesian
- in addition to
- selain
More languagesFewer languages
- besides in Persian
- بجز bejoz, جز joz
- besides in Vietnamese
- cũng như, trừ, ngoại trừ, ngoài
- besides in Myanmar
- အပြင် a.prang
Examples of besides in a sentence
- Besides the arteries blood streams through numerous veins we call collaterals.
- Besides his four legitimate wives, the caliph had dozens of concubines.
- Besides the bookkeeping and marketing, there's a ton of fieldwork to get done this week.
Synonyms of besides
Antonyms
Origin of besides
From Middle English bisides (also bisiden), extension of biside, equivalent to beside + -s (adverbial suffix).
Words formed from besides
Words that rhyme with besides
Questions about besides
- What does besides mean?
- Besides means in addition to.
- What is besides in Hindi?
- Besides in Hindi is के सिवाय (ke sivāy), के अलावा (ke alāvā), के अतिरिक्त (ke atirikt). See Besides meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is besides?
- Besides can be a preposition or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce besides?
- Besides is pronounced /bɪˈsaɪdz/ (UK).
Words near besides in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: besides (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-besides.ogg.
Cite this entry: “besides.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/besides. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.