By Idioms

(English Idioms & Sayings) BY IDIOMS
by a mile

- by a great distance
The runner won the race by a mile.

by a whisker/hair

- just barely, by a very small amount
The marathon runner won the race by a whisker.

by all accounts

- from all reports, from what everyone is saying
By all accounts the new manager is a very good person.

by all appearances

- apparently, according to what one sees
By all appearances the small car was the cause of the accident that killed two people.

by all means

- certainly, yes
"By all means, I will come to dinner next week."

by and by

- before long, after some time has passed
By and by all of the family moved back to the city.

by and large

- on the whole, considering everything
By and large we had a good meeting even though it was very short.

by any means

- by any way possible
We decided to try to find a computer to use by any means.

by chance

- without planning
By chance I saw my father's friend in the supermarket.

by far

- greatly, by a great margin
He is by far the smartest person in his company.

by fits and starts

- irregularly, with many stops and starts
By fits and starts the company was finally able to begin business.

by hook or by crook

- in any way necessary
My sister wants to go to Italy this year by hook or by crook.

by leaps and bounds

- rapidly, by large movements forward
The construction of the new airport is progressing by leaps and bounds.

by means of

- with the use of something
We were able to enter the old building by means of a small window in the back.

by no means

- absolutely not
By no means will I permit my child to play with the new video game.

by the book

- according to the rules
The police officer does everything by the book when he arrests someone.

by the day

- one day at a time
My father was very sick but now he is getting better by the day.

by the dozen

- twelve at a time
We usually buy bottles of water by the dozen.

by the handful

- in measurements equal to a handful
We were eating fresh blueberries by the handful.

by the hour

- after each hour, one hour at a time
We had to pay for our parking space by the hour.

by the month

- one month at a time
The rent for our apartment is paid by the month.

by the same token

- similarly, moreover
"By the same token, I don't want to go downtown again today."

by the seat of one's pants

- by luck and with very little skill
I was able to complete the course by the seat of my pants.

by the skin of one`s teeth

- by a very small margin, barely
I arrived at the train station and was on time by the skin of my teeth.

by the sweat of one`s brow

- by hard work
He managed to make enough money to buy the farm by the sweat of his brow.

by the way

- incidentally
"By the way, could you please bring your computer tomorrow."

by the week

- one week at a time
We rented the car by the week.

by the year

- one year at a time
The contract for the garbage pickup is renewed by the year.

by virtue of (something)

- because of something
My father got his new job by virtue of his volunteer work in the community.

by way of (something)

- as a substitute for something, as a form/example of something
By way of introduction the man gave everyone his business card.

by way of (something or somewhere)

- passing through or by a place
We drove to the airport by way of the small town.

by word of mouth

- by speaking rather than writing
We learned about the party by word of mouth.

Posted by Learning English through Idioms and Sayings