By example sentences
Related (11): near, beside, through, via, with, from, at, during, before, past, alongside
"By" Example Sentences
Common Phrases
- by the way
- by chance
- by mistake
- by heart
- by hand
- by law
- by definition
- by and large
- stand by
- go by
- drop by
- side by side
- day by day
- little by little
- come what may
Examples by Level
A1
- I go to school by bus every day.
- This book was written by my favorite author.
- She made a cake by herself.
A2
- He was surprised by how cold the water was.
- The project got finished by Friday, which was lucky.
- I learned English by watching movies with subtitles.
B1
- The whole situation was made worse by people spreading rumors online.
- She'd always been fascinated by how things worked, so engineering made sense.
- By the time we arrived, the restaurant was already full.
B2
- What struck me most was how unfazed everyone seemed — as if they'd been prepared by years of disappointment.
- The decision, made by a committee that had never actually used the product, felt disconnected from reality.
- By her own admission, she'd wasted a decade on something she never believed in.
C1
- The narrative was subtly undermined by the author's refusal to grant her protagonist any genuine agency.
- What we often mistake for progress is merely the reshuffling of problems — solved by one group, created by another.
- By the time the implications became clear, the damage had already calcified into policy.
C2
- There's something almost cruel about the way memory works — we're haunted not by what happened, but by what we failed to do about it.
- The film's power lay not in its plot but in the spaces between scenes, the silences that spoke volumes about what had been left unsaid by everyone involved.
- By the end, she'd made peace with the fact that some people are simply incapable of understanding you, and that's not a failing on your part.
Examples by Scenario
🏠 Everyday Life
- My neighbor's dog keeps barking at 6 AM, and I'm pretty sure it's by design at this point.
- I got caught in the rain by accident and now my phone won't turn on.
- The shortcut by the park is closed, so my commute just got ten minutes longer.
💼 Workplace
- The new policy was introduced by management without asking anyone who actually does the work.
- My colleague got promoted by kissing up to the right people, and honestly, it's transparent.
- The deadline got pushed back by a week, which means we can actually breathe now.
📊 Business
- Our revenue increased by 23% after we shifted our marketing strategy to focus on younger demographics.
- The merger was complicated by regulatory issues, but we're pushing through.
- Customer retention improved by implementing a loyalty program that actually rewards repeat purchases.
🛒 Buying / Shopping
- I saved about fifty bucks by waiting for the sale instead of buying it full price.
- The product description was misleading, so I'm returning it by tomorrow.
- These shoes are way more comfortable than the last pair, and they cost less by twenty dollars.
✈️ Travel
- We got delayed by four hours, which meant we missed our connection and had to book a hotel.
- The tour guide pointed out landmarks by their historical significance, which made the whole thing more interesting.
- Flying by budget airline seemed smart until we realized the baggage fees made it more expensive.
📚 Education
- The teacher explained fractions by using pizza, and suddenly it clicked for everyone.
- My daughter's confidence was boosted by getting positive feedback on her essay.
- The curriculum was updated by the school board to include more diverse perspectives.
❤️ Relationships
- He hurt me by breaking a promise he'd made a hundred times before.
- We stayed together longer than we should have, held by habit and fear of being alone.
- She knew something was wrong just by the way I said hello — that's how well she knows me.
📰 News / Politics
- The scandal was exposed by an investigative journalist who'd been digging for months.
- Public opinion shifted by nearly 15 points after the debate aired.
- The policy was criticized by environmental groups for not going far enough.
💻 Technology
- The app crashed by the time I needed it most, naturally.
- My productivity improved by switching to a different note-taking tool.
- The algorithm was designed by engineers who clearly don't understand how people actually use social media.
📝 Formal Writing
- The study was conducted by researchers from three major universities over a five-year period.
- The findings were corroborated by independent analysis of the same dataset.
- The report recommends that standards be established by a committee of industry experts and regulatory bodies.