beside and besides - the difference

by Craig Shrives
The Quick Answer
What is the difference between beside and besides?

Beside means next to.

Besides means apart from or and another thing.
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Beside and Besides

Writers sometimes confuse the words beside and besides. Beside and besides sound similar, but their meanings are quite different.

Beside

The word beside is a preposition. It means close to or next to.

Examples:
  • Come and sit beside me.
  • Your hat is beside the dog basket.

Besides

The preposition besides means in addition to or apart from. As an adverb, it means furthermore or and another thing.

Examples:
  • Besides Craig, who else caught a bass?
    • (Besides is a preposition in this example. It means apart from.)
  • Besides, it's not just about determination.
    • (Besides is an adverb in this example. It means furthermore.)
Interactive Exercise
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See Also

adverse or averse? affect or effect? appraise or apprise? avenge or revenge? bare or bear? complement or compliment? dependant or dependent? discreet or discrete? disinterested or uninterested? e.g. or i.e.? envy or jealousy? imply or infer? its or it's? material or materiel? poisonous or venomous? practice or practise? principal or principle? tenant or tenet? who's or whose?
What are prepositions? What are adverbs? List of easily confused words