| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| of | Expressing direction. |
| to | Indicating destination: In the direction of, and arriving at. |
| in | Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits |
| for | Towards. |
| with | Against. |
| on | Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above. |
| at | In or very near a particular place. |
| by | Near or next to. |
| from | With the source or provenance of or at. |
| into | Going inside (of). |
| about | In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of. |
| like | Similar to, reminiscent of. |
| between | In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See the Usage notes below.) |
| after | Subsequently to; following in time; later than. |
| over | Physical positioning. |
| through | From one side of an opening to the other. |
| against | (heading physical) A close but separated relationship. |
| under | In or at a lower level than. |
| within | Indicates spatial enclosure or containment. |
| without | (archaic or literary) Outside of, beyond. |
| during | For all of a given time interval. |
| before | Earlier than (in time). |
| towards | Alternative form of toward |
| upon | Being above and in contact with another. |
| around | Defining a circle or closed curve containing a thing. |
| among | Denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. (See Usage Note at amidst) |
| across | To, toward or from the far side of (something that lies between two points of interest). |
| off | Used to indicate movement away from a position on |
| behind | At the back of; positioned with something else in front of. |
| since | From: referring to a period of time ending in the present and defining it by the point in time at which it started, or or the period in which its starting point occurred. |
| until | Up to the time of (something happening). |
| despite | In spite of, notwithstanding, regardless of. |
| per | for each |
| near | Close to, in close proximity to. |
| above | Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing. |
| outside | On the outside of, not inside (something, such as a building). |
| along | By the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to. |
| throughout | In every part of; all through. |
| round | (rare _ in US) Alternative form of around |
| beyond | Further away than. |
| down | From the higher end to the lower of. |
| up | Toward the top of. |
| inside | Within the interior of something, closest to the center or to a specific point of reference. |
| past | beyond in place, quantity or time |
| onto | Upon; on top of. |
| below | Lower in spatial position than. |
| beside | Next to; at the side of. |
| amongst | Denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. See usage note at amidst. |
| via | By way of; passing through. |
| beneath | Below. |
| unlike | Differently from; not in a like or similar manner. |
| except | With the exception of; but. |
| alongside | Together with or at the same time. |
| till | Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time). |
| but | (obsolete outside Scotland) Outside of. |
| minus | (informal) Without. |
| toward | In the direction of. |
| opposite | Facing, or across from. |
| amid | Surrounded by; in the middle of; in the center of. |
| versus | against, in opposition to. |
| underneath | Under, below, beneath. |
| out | (nonstandard contraction of out of) Away from the inside. |
| re | About, regarding, with reference to; especially in letters and documents. |
| besides | (obsolete) Beside. |
| aboard | On board of; onto or into a ship, boat, train, plane. |
| amidst | In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. |
| notwithstanding | In spite of, despite. |
| vs | Alternative form of vs. |
| unto | (archaic or poetic) Up to, indicating a motion towards a thing and then stopping at it. |
| save | Except; with the exception of. |
| post | After; especially after a significant event that has long-term ramifications. |
| fer | (dialectal especially British) Eye dialect of for |
| pre | Before (something significant). |
| outwith | (chiefly _ Scotland Northern England) Outside; beyond; outside of. |
| atop | On the top of. |
| cross | (Archaic) across |
| pro | In favor of. |
| astride | With one’s legs on either side of. |
| wi’ | (regional) with |
| nr | Abbreviation of lang=en |
| vis-a-vis | Alternative form of vis-à-vis |
| wid | (regional) Eye dialect of with. |
| o’er | (literary) Contraction over |
| chez | At the home of |
| vs. | Abbreviation of versus |
| fur | Eye dialect spelling of for |
| thru | (Canada US informal possibly _ nonstandard) Alternative spelling of through |
| bar | Except, other than, besides. |
| a | (Archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. |
| betwixt | (literary or archaic) Between, specifically between two objects. |
| ’bout | (colloquial or poetic) about. |
| afore | Before; in advance of the time of. |
| ere | (poetic archaic) Before; sooner than. |
| bout | (colloquial) about |
| til | (colloquial) until, till |
| nigh | near; close to |
| apropos | Regarding or concerning. |
| pon | Alternative spelling of ‘pon; Contraction of upon |
| neath | (poetic) Beneath. |
| wi | (Yorkshire) with |
| ‘twixt | (literary) Betwixt. |
| vice | instead of, in place of |
| inbetween | Misspelling of in between |
| ower | (Geordie) over |
| doon | (Geordie) Down. |
| aboot | nonstandard spelling of about |
| thro | (Archaic) through |
| ‘cept | nonstandard form of except |
| dba | (business) Doing business as; used to indicate the public alias of a business legally constituted under a different name |
| ajax | (Polari) Nearby, over there |
| tofore | (obsolete) Before. |
| abaat | pronunciation spelling of about |
| afoor | Eye dialect of afore |
| ahind | (dialect) behind |
| close to | Near id=close to. |
| ‘pon | Contraction of upon. Also spelt pon. Often found in expressions such as |
| forby | (UK _ dialectal Northern England Scotland archaic) Beyond; past; more than; greater than; over and above; moreover. |
| aside from | excluding |
| ahint | (UK _ dialectal) behind |
| forbye | Alternative form of forby |
| withinside | (Archaic) Within, inside. |
| complete with | Having some specified thing as an additional feature. |
| going on | Indicates a time or age in the very near future. |
| care of | (mail) For distribution by (the named intermediary). |
| vis-à-vis | In relation to; compared with |
| imell | (dialectal or obsolete) Amid; among. |
| vis-á-vis | Misspelling of vis-à-vis |
| forenenst | (dialect) Over against; opposite to. |
| OTC | Initialism of on the cheek |
| sence | (dialectal) Alternative spelling of since |
| circa | approximately, about |
| machiam | (Singapore informal) like, similar to, resembling. |
| all up with | Over for, finished for (negative connotation.) |
| a | (archaic slang) Of. |
| doone | Eye dialect of down |
| ageynest | rare spelling of against |
| contra | against; contrary or opposed to; in opposition or contrast to |
| such as | (Idiomatic) For example. |
| ageynst | obsolete form of against |
| amiddest | Obsolete spelling of amidst |
| spite | Notwithstanding; despite. |
| amiddst | rare spelling of amidst |
| prior to | (formal) before |
| on the heels of | (Idiomatic) In close pursuit of; close behind. |
| by dint of | Because of. |
| wit | (Southern American English) Alternative spelling of with |
| wit’ | Eye dialect spelling of with |
| ala | (colloquial) Alternative form of a la |
| along about | (idiomatic informal) Approximately; at around some time. |
| amidest | Obsolete spelling of amidst |
| upside | (informal) On the top of. |
| withoute | archaic spelling of without |
| along of | (obsolete) because of |
| in advance of | Before; ahead of. |
| down to | ready for |
| adown | (Archaic) down |
| for all | In spite of, despite. |
| fornenst | Alternative form of forenenst |
| along the lines of | Similar to, but not exactly equal. |
| in aid of | (UK) for; for the sake of – usually placed at the end of a question when quizzing a person about why they have done something. |
| fornent | Alternative form of forenenst |
| withoutside | (obsolete) outside |
| faw | Eye dialect of for; chiefly used to represent the accent of slaves in the United States. |
| befo | (chiefly in representations of _ African American Vernacular English) Eye dialect of before |
| alongest | obsolete form of alongst |
| befo’ | (AAVE) Eye dialect spelling of before |
| aboon | (Scotland British _ dialectal) Above. |
| accd’g to | Abbreviation of according to |
| apres | (rare nonstandard) After |
| ahn | Eye dialect of on |
| emong | obsolete form of among |
| to do with | (Idiomatic) Related to or relevant to. |
| together with | With or in proximity to another person. |
| ‘longst | (poetic) altform alongst |
| emongst | obsolete form of amongst |
| après | After. |
| in place of | instead of |
| but for | Except, except for, not counting; were it not for. |
| aprés | nonstandard spelling of apres |
| befoir | (Scotland) Obsolete spelling of before |
| or | (now archaic or dialect) Before; ere. |
| closeby | Alternative form of close by |
| abaft | (nautical) Behind; toward the stern relative to some other object or position; aft of. |
| whith | obsolete form of with |
| c̄ | (medicine) with |
| alongst | (Archaic) along |
| befor | Misspelling of before |
| AKA | Abbreviation of also known as |
| in view of | &lit in view of |
| aka | Alternative form of AKA |
| intiv | (Geordie) into |
| bang on | (idiomatic British Australia) Exactly at |
| gain | (obsolete) Against. |
| in virtue of | (Idiomatic) by virtue of |
| furth | (Scotland) out or outside |
| by means of | by using (a thing) |
| throughe | Obsolete spelling of through |
| uv | (sometimes leet) Eye dialect of of |
| abaht | (UK) Eye dialect of about |
| in back of | (North America) behind |
| owing to | Because of, on account of. |
| unincluding | Not including; excluding. |
| other than | (Idiomatic) Except, besides. |
| other then | Misspelling of other than |
| roun’ | Eye dialect of round |
| aloof | (obsolete) away from; clear of |
| than | introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives, and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it seeks to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates. |
| wired into | connected via wires or nerves to |
| sithence | (obsolete) Since. |
| ben | (Scotland northern England) In, into. |
| in bed with | Sharing one’s bed with. |
| on the order of | In the manner of; along the lines of; like; of a similar kind to; more-or-less equivalent to. |
| oute | Obsolete spelling of out |
| ’round | Contraction of around. |
| in behalf of | Alternative form of on behalf of |
| abt. | contraction of about |
| outside of | Outside. |
| on the other side of | &lit on the other side of |
| in between | Between |
| outen | (archaic or dialectal) Out; out of; out from. |
| WRT | Initialism of with respect to |
| in re | (chiefly _ legal) In the matter of; with regard to. |
| upon the heels of | Alternative form of on the heels of |
| wif | (informal dialectal nonstandard) with |
| amonge | archaic spelling of among |
| come | Used to indicate an event, period, or change in state occurring after a present time. |
| wrt | Alternative form of WRT |
| amongest | obsolete form of amongst |
| amyddest | obsolete form of amidst |
| on | (UK _ dialectal Scotland) Without. |
| amyddst | obsolete form of amidst |
| on the point of | (Idiomatic) Very nearly; imminent; close. |
| amydst | obsolete form of amidst |
| thorough | (obsolete) Through. |
| in relation to | concerning; in reference to. |
| ‘midst | (poetic) |
| ‘mong | An aphetic form of among |
| aout | (rare) Eye dialect of out |
| midst | (rare) Among, in the middle of; amid. |
| in case of | If there should be. |
| in respect of | Regarding; concerning; pertaining to; with reference to. |
| take away | minus |
| mong | (obsolete) a variant spelling of ’mong |
| in right of | (law) a power held as a consequence of another power, or held as a consequence of a relationship |
| erbout | Eye dialect of about |
| ap. | Abbreviation of apud Used in scholarly works to cite a reference at second hand |
| exept | Obsolete spelling of except |
| anear | near |
| ohn | Alternative form of on |
| by virtue of | (Idiomatic) because of; on the grounds of; by reason of |
| to the effect | with more or less the meaning of |
| alow | (Scotland) Below. |
| anearst | rare spelling of anear |
| at peace with | (Idiomatic) Not disturbed or upset by. |
| orf | (eye dialect) off |
| aslant | (Archaic) diagonally over or across |
| abreast | Abreast of; alongside. |
| mauger | Alternative spelling of maugre |
| from off | off from; off |
| abun | (obsolete UK regional) Alternative form of above |
| foregain | (Now _ chiefly _ dialectal) Directly opposite to; in the opposite scale to. |
| belong | (Australian Aboriginal optionally followed by ‘to’) Of, belonging to. |
| ferninst | (US regional) against |
| foregainst | (Now _ dialectal) Directly opposite to; in the opposite scale to. |
| maugre | (Archaic) Notwithstanding; in spite of. |
| A. | after |
| dureing | archaic spelling of during |
| thorow | Obsolete spelling of through |
| cum | 1=Used in indicating a thing with two roles, functions, or natures, or a thing that has changed from one to another. |
| on account of | (Idiomatic) Because of, due to, owing to. |
| ayein | altform ayen |
| a. | about |
| to the power of | (mathematics) Indicating an exponent. |
| befure | Eye dialect of before |
| rather than | instead of; in preference to. |
| apropos of | Concerning; with regard to; about; apropos. |
| arter | Eye dialect of after |
| despight | Obsolete spelling of despite |
| affor | Obsolete spelling of afore |
| ayen | Back against. |
| unnear | (chiefly obsolete) Not near; at a distance from. |
| besyde | archaic spelling of beside |
| qua | in the capacity of |
| save for | With the exception of |
| ‘gainst | (poetic) Contraction of ‘against‘. |
| abaout | Eye dialect of about |
| outa | Alternative spelling of outta |
| thro’ | (poetic) through |
| gainst | (poetic) against |
| for sake of | Because of, for the sake of. |
| bet | (knitting) between |
| in spite of | (Idiomatic) Despite, irrespective of, notwithstanding. |
| abune | (Northern England Scotland) Alternative form of aboon |
| on behalf of | Speaking or acting for. |
| over against | In comparison to. |
| viâ | (British spelling) Dated form of via |
| adjacent | (US) Next to; adjacent to; beside. |
| at the expense of | By taking away from. |
| over and above | in addition to, supplementary to |
| at the feet of | (Idiomatic) As a disciple, student, subordinate or worshiper of. |
| longa | (Australian Aboriginal) on, in, at, to |
| at the hand of | Alternative form of at the hands of |
| with an eye to | (Idiomatic) With an intention to. |
| at the hands of | By the actions of (someone). |
| frome | Obsolete spelling of from |
| gainward | (obsolete) Toward; facing; over against. |
| with an eye towards | (Idiomatic) With an intention, goal, or consideration to. |
| instead of | In lieu of; in place of; rather than. |
| abroad | Throughout, over. |
| hard by | (dated) Close to; near; in proximity to. |
| nearhand | (now _ dialectal) Nearby. |
| a la | In the style or manner of. |
| downe | Obsolete spelling of down |
| in terms of | (mathematics) [of one variable or unit of measurement x which has a known relationship to another y] Using equivalent expressions in y in place of expressions in x; mapping x to y. |
| bewest | (UK _ dialectal chiefly Scotland) To the west of. |
| ter | (dialectal) Eye dialect of to |
| untill | Obsolete spelling of until |
| à la | Alternative form of a la |
| all along | &lit all along |
| bet. | Abbreviation of between |
| quoad | (Archaic) With respect to. |
| offa | (colloquial) Off of. |
| FBO | (US finance) Initialism of for the benefit of (e.g., on a check or other financial instrument sent to a custodian). |
| agaynest | obsolete form of against |
| in face of | Face to face. |
| according to | (Idiomatic) Based on what is said or stated by; on the authority of. |
| agaynst | Obsolete spelling of against |
| mang | (Devon) Amid, amongst, among. |
| fromward | (now _ dialect Southern English Midlands West Country) From; away from. |
| fromwards | (obsolete) away from |
| whiz | (slang) Eye dialect of with |
| in favor of | For; in support of; approving, supporting. |
| for the love of | (Idiomatic) Used to form interjections expressing exasperation. |
| up against | (Idiomatic) Facing; challenging, or opposing. |
| apart from | except for; besides |
| in favour of | Alternative form of in favor of |
| ayond | (Northern England) Beyond. |
| amoung | archaic spelling of among |
| ayont | (Scotland Northern England) Beyond. |
| on this side of | (Not with a specific meaning) |
| alang | Eye dialect of along |
| amoungest | obsolete form of amongst |
| ‘mongst | (archaic poetic) amongst |
| wyth | Obsolete spelling of with |
| amoungst | archaic form of amongst |
| twixt | (literary) betwixt, between |
| dahn | (UK) Eye dialect of down |
| alangst | obsolete form of alongst |
| anigh | (Archaic) Nigh; near. |
| inbetwixt | (Archaic) between; in between |
| to-ward | archaic form of toward |
| on to | Upon; on top of. |
| anighst | obsolete form of anigh |
| B4 | (messaging) Abbreviation of before |
| like unto | (archaic chiefly biblical in adjective or adverb phrases that express resemblance) like, similar to |
| on top of | Atop |
| wythoute | Obsolete spelling of without |
| as against | In comparison to |
| wythowt | obsolete form of without |
| up for | (Idiomatic) Willing to participate in; interested in. |
| A.K.A. | Alternative spelling of AKA |
| for the sake of | Because of; out of consideration for; in the interest of. |
| uppon | archaic spelling of upon |
| bye | Obsolete spelling of by |
| over to | Used on television or radio to indicate a change to another reporter or commentator. |
| wythowte | obsolete form of without |
| wiv | (informal) with |
| what with | (Idiomatic) Owing to; because of; as a result of. |
| with regard to | Concerning; about. |
| in the event of | In case of. |
| ‘neath | (poetic) Alternative form of beneath |
| aboutes | (obsolete) Alternative form of abouts |
| with respect to | Regarding; concerning; pertaining to. |
| for want of | for lack of; because of the absence of |
| regardless | Paying no attention to; regardless of. |
| in the eyes of | In the opinion of, from the perspective of, as far as concerns. |
| behinde | Obsolete spelling of behind |
| regardless of | without attention to |
| abouts | (obsolete) About. |
| thanks to | Because of; normally used with a positive connotation, though it can be used sarcastically. |
| in the face of | (idiomatic colloquial) despite, against, contrary to |
| courtesy of | thanks to. |
| anti | (rare) altform anti- |
| uptill | (obsolete rare) to; against |
| in front of | At or near the front part of (something). |
| as for | Regarding; about; concerning. |
| behine | (Archaic) Alternative spelling of behind |
| ablow | (Scotland) Below. |
| ‘long | Abbreviation of along |
| behither | (rare) On this side of. |
| wiz | (slang especially represents slurred or drunken speech) Eye dialect of with |
| rel | (mathematics) Abbreviation of relative to |
| froward | (obsolete) Away from. |
| upto | Misspelling of up to |
| agin | (colloquial or now _ often humorous) Alternative form of against |
| except for | With the exception of |
| imbetween | (nonstandard) In between. |
| apud | Used in scholarly works to cite a reference at second hand |
| foreanent | (Scotland obsolete) Over against; opposite to. |
| benorth | (now _ Scotland) North of. |
| fo | (informal) Alternative spelling of fo’ |
| fo’ | (informal) for |
| twell | Eye dialect of till |
| F/B/O | Alternative spelling of lang=en |
| aginst | (dialect nonstandard) archaic spelling of against |
| f/k/a | Having previously had the specified name. |
| in the light of | In the illumination from (a source of light). |
| half | (UK Ireland) a half-hour after, thirty minutes after (used with the number of the hour) |
| thanne | Obsolete spelling of than |
| sauf | obsolete form of save |
| anenst | (UK dialect Scotland) Over against. |
| vith | Eye dialect of with |
| ageinest | rare spelling of against |
| agyen | (Geordie) against |
| anent | (Archaic) Concerning, with regard to, about, in respect to, as to, insofar as, inasmuch as |
| outta | (colloquial US) Out of. |
| vor | Eye dialect of for |
| vpon | Obsolete spelling of upon |
| vppon | Obsolete spelling of upon |
| afther | Eye dialect of after |
| ageinst | obsolete form of against |
| untyll | Obsolete spelling of until |
| outtake | (Archaic) except; besides. |
| outtaken | (obsolete) except; save |
| in the middle of | &lit in middle of |
| on or about | approximately. |
| aftre | Obsolete spelling of after |
| in the midst of | In the middle of. Amidst. Amongst |
| hoff | Eye dialect of off |
| because | (uncommon slang especially Internet) On account of, because of. |
| afront | in front of |
| thoo | Eye dialect of through |
| across from | Facing |
| because of | On account of; due to, for the purpose of |
| ontop | Misspelling of on top |
| up till | (informal) Until. |
| abeam | (nautical) Alongside. |
| as of | (Idiomatic) from, at, or until a specified time |
| in keeping with | In accordance with. |
| up to | next to; near; towards; as far as. |
| out of | From the inside to the outside of; having emerged from. |
| um | Alternative form of umbe |
| all over | (Idiomatic) Everywhere; covering completely. |
| ever since | Continuously since. |
| betune | (Irish) between |
| acrosst | (obsolete) across |
| par | By; with. |
| bove | Above. |
| beyant | Eye dialect of beyond |
| acrost | (nonstandard dialect) Alternative form of across |
| as opposed to | in contrast to, rather than, instead of. |
| beneathe | Obsolete spelling of beneath |
| upwards of | more than; in excess of |
| agen | Obsolete spelling of again |
| as per | Consistent, or in accordance, with; according to |
| in lieu of | instead of; in place of |
| in the process of | &lit in process of |
| off of | (now _ colloquial) Off; from. |
| in light of | (idiomatic Australia, Canada, US) given, considering |
| as regards | regarding, concerning |
| short | Deficient in. |
| awaye | Obsolete spelling of away |
| nought withstanding | Alternative spelling of noughtwithstanding |
| en | Used in various phrases borrowed from French or formed as if borrowed from French (see “Derived terms” below). |
| ascr. | Abbreviation of ascriptus Ascribed to. |
| next | On the side of; next to. |
| as soon as | &lit as soon |
| nought-withstanding | Alternative spelling of nought withstanding |
| abowt | (obsolete outside of _ dialects) Alternative spelling of about |
| absent | In the absence of; without. |
| overthwart | (archaic UK _ dialect) From one side to the other of; across. |
| mid | (obsolete) With. |
| athwart | (Archaic) From one side to the other side of. |
| contrary to | despite; in opposition to (an assumption, etc.) |
| ab | Abbreviation of about |
| atween | (Archaic) between |
| endlong | Along (as opposed to across), from end to end of. |
| thruout | (US Canada) nonstandard spelling of throughout |
| vytin | Obsolete spelling of within |
| next door | (dialectal) Next door to. |
| in addition to | as well as |
| astern of | (nautical) behind |
| in love with | See ‘in love‘ |
| noughtwithstanding | Obsolete spelling of notwithstanding |
| up until | (informal) Until. |
| umb | Alternative form of umbe |
| close by | Close, near, nearby: in proximity (to). |
| atwix | (Geordie) between |
| vrom | Eye dialect of from |
| inmid | (obsolete) amid. |
| foreby | Alternative form of forby |
| inmiddes | (obsolete) amidst. |
| agenest | obsolete form of against |
| widout | (eye dialect) without |
| due to | caused by; resulting from. |
| again | (obsolete or dialectal) Against. |
| next to | Beside; alongside. |
| half past | Thirty minutes past a certain hour. |
| umbe | (dialectal) Around, about; after. |
| ahead of | In front of. |
Note: these words have been obtained from Wiktionary and have been classified and improved through automated computer linguistics processes.