beside
bɪˈsaɪd
One seat to the side: comfort one moment, off the point the next
The picture Two people standing shoulder to shoulder, right next to each other. Not in front, not behind — the spot you can reach with one hand. BETWEEN steps into the gap between two things; BESIDE lines up alongside just one.
Where the picture shows up in beside
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right at my side
Please come and sit beside me.
pliːz kʌm ænd sɪt bɪˈsaɪd miː
Come and take the seat next to mine.
An empty chair pulled up flush against my own chair.
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building next door
The pharmacy is right beside the hospital.
ðə ˈfɑːrməsi ɪz raɪt bɪˈsaɪd ðə ˈhɑːspɪtl
The pharmacy is right next door to the hospital.
Two buildings sharing a wall, standing shoulder to shoulder.
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laid out for comparison
Put the new numbers beside last quarter's.
pʊt ðə nuː ˈnʌmbərz bɪˈsaɪd læst ˈkwɔːrtərz
Lay the new figures next to last quarter's.
Two sheets spread flat on the desk, eyes flicking left and right between them.
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staying with someone
I'll stay beside you until the doctor comes.
aɪl steɪ bɪˈsaɪd juː ənˈtɪl ðə ˈdɑːktər kʌmz
I will stay right here with you until the doctor arrives.
Sitting in the chair by the bed, holding a hand.
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one step off the topic
That's beside the point right now.
ðæts bɪˈsaɪd ðə pɔɪnt raɪt naʊ
That is off the point for now.
Stepping one pace off a straight path into the grass at its edge.
All of it in one picture
BESIDE is the seat lined up at your side. When a body comes alongside, it is where you sit; when a building comes alongside, it is an address; when numbers come alongside, it is a comparison; when a person stays alongside, it is comfort. And when that side spot drifts one step off the main line of talk, it becomes that is not what we are discussing. All five are the same picture: one step over.