What's the difference between between and by?

Between


Definition:

  • (prep.) In the space which separates; betwixt; as, New York is between Boston and Philadelphia.
  • (prep.) Used in expressing motion from one body or place to another; from one to another of two.
  • (prep.) Belonging in common to two; shared by both.
  • (prep.) Belonging to, or participated in by, two, and involving reciprocal action or affecting their mutual relation; as, opposition between science and religion.
  • (prep.) With relation to two, as involved in an act or attribute of which another is the agent or subject; as, to judge between or to choose between courses; to distinguish between you and me; to mediate between nations.
  • (prep.) In intermediate relation to, in respect to time, quantity, or degree; as, between nine and ten o'clock.
  • (n.) Intermediate time or space; interval.

Example Sentences:

By


Definition:

  • (pref.) In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me.
  • (pref.) On; along; in traversing. Compare 5.
  • (pref.) Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side of; past; as, to go by a church.
  • (pref.) Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty feet by forty.
  • (pref.) Against.
  • (pref.) With, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take by force.
  • (adv.) Near; in the neighborhood; present; as, there was no person by at the time.
  • (adv.) Passing near; going past; past; beyond; as, the procession has gone by; a bird flew by.
  • (adv.) Aside; as, to lay by; to put by.
  • (a.) Out of the common path; aside; -- used in composition, giving the meaning of something aside, secondary, or incidental, or collateral matter, a thing private or avoiding notice; as, by-line, by-place, by-play, by-street. It was formerly more freely used in composition than it is now; as, by-business, by-concernment, by-design, by-interest, etc.

Example Sentences: