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by

Pronunciation: /baɪ/

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French translation of by

A. prep

  • 1 (with passive verbs) par he was bitten by a snake = il a été mordu par un serpent
  • 2 (with present participle) en by working extra hours = en faisant des heures supplémentaires to learn French by listening to the radio = apprendre le français en écoutant la radio to begin by doing = commencer par faire
  • 3 (by means of) par to pay by cheque = payer par chèque by mistake/accident = par erreur/accident to travel to Rome by Venice = aller à Rome en passant par Venise to travel by bus/train = voyager en bus/train by bicycle = à bicyclette, en vélo by candlelight [dine] = aux chandelles; [read] = à la bougie
  • 4 (from) à I could tell by the look on her face that = rien qu'à la regarder je savais que
  • 6 (showing authorship) de a film by Claude Chabrol = un film de Claude Chabrol who is it by? = c'est de qui?
  • 7 (in time expressions) avant by midnight = avant minuit by this time next week = d'ici la semaine prochaine by the time she had got downstairs he was gone = le temps qu'elle descende, il était parti he should be here by now = il devrait être déjà là
  • 8 (according to) selon to play by the rules = jouer selon les règles by my watch = à ma montre
  • 9 (showing amount) de prices have risen by 20% = les prix ont augmenté de 20% he's taller than me by two centimetres = il fait deux centimètres de plus que moi
  • 10 (in measurements) sur 20 metres by 10 metres = 20 mètres sur 10
  • 12little by little = peu à peu day by day = jour après jour one by one = un par un, une par une by oneself = tout seul/toute seule to go or pass by sb/sth = passer devant qn/qch
  • 13 (in compass directions) quart south by south-west = sud quart sud-ouest

B. adv

  • 1 (past) to go by = passer the people walking by = les gens qui passent/passaient, les passants as time goes by = avec le temps
  • 2 (near) près he lives close by = il habite tout près
  • 3 (aside) to put money by = mettre de l'argent de côté

by in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of by in the British & World English dictionary Definition of by in the US English dictionary