side
/sʌɪd
/noun
1A position to the left or right of an object, place, or central point: a town on the other side of the river on either side of the entrance was a garden Rona tilted her head to one side [in combination]: stream-side plants...
- The policemen had taken up battle positions on the other side of the gate.
- The man then sat down across the table from him and folded his arms on the desk as the guards took up positions at the sides of the door.
- Your arms should be directly in front of your body or slightly out to the sides in the start position.
1.1Either of the two halves of an object, surface, or place regarded as divided by an imaginary central line: she lay on her side of the bed the left side of the brain...
- This is an opening in the central wall of the heart that divides the right side from the left.
- Cut off the arms and neck hole and divide the two sides in two to make four dusters: dampen them slightly and they work a treat without the use of polish.
- The heart is a muscular pump divided into two sides.
Synonyms
half, part;
carriageway, lane;
hemisphere
1.2The right or the left part of a person’s or animal’s body, especially of the human torso: he has been paralysed down his right side since birth...
- The first man received nine stab wounds to his chest and the left-hand side of his body.
- Nurses turned my body slowly on its side, so I could sleep and get feeling back in my legs.
- They keep me even on both sides of my body, and I can stand up without falling backwards or tipping too far forwards.
1.3Either of the lateral halves of the body of a butchered animal, or of an animal prepared for eating: a side of beef...
- Preserved pork, including sides salted to make bacon, held a place of primary importance in the British diet in past centuries.
- Mounds of oysters, long sides of smoked salmon and busy chefs cooking right in front of you are assurance enough of simple stuff done well.
- Murdoch arrived just a little bit later driving a wagon laden with sides of beef and pork for the barbecue.
2An upright or sloping surface of a structure or object that is not the top or bottom and generally not the front or back: a car crashed into the side of the house line the sides of the cake tin [as modifier]: a side entrance...
- There is a side entrance from the front of the house into the kitchen pantry area.
- Turn it over and look at the top, front, back, sides and bottom.
- The house has a side entrance, large garden to the rear and off street parking.
2.1Each of the flat surfaces of a solid object: cubes with a different decoration on each of the six sides...
- Cuboid cores are prepared blocky-like cubes of chert, with blades often produced on six sides.
- The album cover can only have been designed, and approved, by someone who owns dice with more than six sides.
- However, some have pointed out that many crystals have six sides rather than four.
2.2Either of the two surfaces of something flat and thin, such as paper: comments should not exceed one side of A4 paper the flysheet is silicone protected on both sides...
- Encouraged, though shy, Moon started using both sides of the paper.
- Most campus printers are way cheaper when you use both sides of the paper.
- Staff and children alike reused paper, photocopied on both sides and shredded waste paper.
Synonyms
surface, face, plane, part, facet, aspect, facade
2.3The amount of writing needed to fill one side of a sheet of paper: do not write more than three sides...
- Neither is much longer than two sides of a single sheet of paper.
- The wine list is two sides of an A4 sheet with no room for showing off, and seems very intelligently chosen.
- As a result, a typical Saturday ‘would result in thirty sides of notes handwritten on A4 paper’.
2.4Either of the two faces of a record or of the two separate tracks on a length of recording tape: the other side of the original 78 is free of any distortion put the tape on and listen to a whole side...
- You requested three or four numbers, so I have filled up one side of a cassette tape.
- There are six tracks split over two sides of vinyl, featuring daytime recording on one side and night-time workouts on the flip.
- Reliably, however, she woke up each time it was time to change sides on the tape.
3 (one's side) A place or position closely adjacent to someone: his wife stood at his side...
- They come in all shapes and sizes, they stand alert by one's side when not required and they have to be carried on escalators.
- I turned to see one of my neighbors had came to my side.
- At my side was another sick kid, a little boy who was sort of the poster child for the hospital.
4A part or region near the edge and away from the middle of something: a minibus was parked at the side of the road cottages on the south side of the green...
- The Evening Press reported how a van driver had come across the woman slumped in an armchair at the side of the road near shops.
- She looked up at her surroundings, surprised to note that she was near the side of a road.
- The two cars, a Volvo and a Metro, had been parked safely at the side of the road outside his home in Foxwood Lane, York.
Synonyms
edge, border, verge, boundary, margin, fringe, fringes, flank, brink, bank, brim, rim, lip, perimeter, circumference, extremity, periphery, limit, outer limit, limits, bound, bounds;
hand
literary marge, bourn, skirt
4.1Each of the lines forming the boundary of a plane rectilinear figure: the farm buildings formed three sides of a square...
- How much more sacred than our triangle would be a square, a pentagon, a decagon, a figure with a hundred sides?
- The cathedral stands on one side of a historic square with government buildings lining the other sides.
- He gives the example of the exercise of trying to draw a seven-sided figure with equal sides, using only a ruler and compass.
5A person or group opposing another or others in a dispute, contest, or debate: the two sides agreed to resume border trade whose side are you on?...
- There was concern that the opposing sides in the funeral dispute might travel to the hospital for the remains.
- There is virtually no common ground between the two opposing sides in the debate over the Constitutional Reform Bill.
- In this debate the opposing sides rarely address the other's best arguments.
Synonyms
faction, camp, bloc, clique, caucus, entente, axis, ring, party, wing, splinter group, sect, clan, set
5.1British A sports team: there was a mixture of old and young players in their side...
- Previous England rugby sides, and England teams in many other sports, would have crumbled under the weight of such errors.
- Overall it was a battling team performance from both sides with the man of the match award going to Liam Chipman.
- They'll face better sides than this Monaco team, but you can only beat what's put in front of you.
Synonyms
team, squad, line-up, crew
5.2The position, interests, or attitude of one person or group, especially when regarded as being in opposition to another or others: Mrs Burt hasn’t kept her side of the bargain I would have loved to have heard his side of the argument...
- The public deserve to hear both sides of the argument because this is the single most important decision to face this country.
- She is a much needed conservative voice in an often liberal media, and will fight to have both sides of every argument heard.
- On Monday a planning inspector heard both sides of the argument before visiting the site.
Synonyms
point of view, viewpoint, view, perspective, opinion, way of thinking, mind, standpoint, stance, stand, position, attitude, posture, outlook, frame of reference, slant, aspect, angle, facet
6A particular aspect of a situation or a person’s character: her ability to put up with his disagreeable side...
- The negative side of this aspect is that self-indulgence may cause physical problems.
- According to the young bride, her wedding was the bringing together of the emotional and business sides of her character.
- His delivery and facial expressions expose the many sides of his character and even hint at his own hypocrisy.
6.1A person’s kinship or line of descent as traced through either their father or mother: Richard was of French descent on his mother’s side...
- All my ancestors on both my father's and mother's sides were employed in the mining and steel industries.
- I come from a family which is steeped in the law, on both my mother's and father's sides.
- A mechanic's son, he is descended on his mother's side from a line of griots.
7British informal A television channel considered as one of two or more that are available: what’s on the other side?
8 [as modifier] Subsidiary to or less important than something: a side dish of fresh vegetables...
- You don't really need these side dishes, though, especially if you get an appetizer.
- The side dish had enough to feed two, let alone garnish a single plate.
- I found the large salad a bit small for a meal, but it's the perfect size for two to share as a side dish.
Synonyms
subordinate, lesser, lower, lower-level, secondary, minor, peripheral, incidental, tangential, marginal, ancillary, subsidiary, subservient, non-essential, inessential, immaterial, borderline, irrelevant, beside the point, of little account, extraneous, unimportant, less important
8.1chiefly North American A dish served as subsidiary to the main one: sides of German potato salad and red cabbage...
- This would make a great side with fish for instance, or can be served as a main dish.
- The potatoes and shallots were excellent sides, sweet and soft and flavorful.
9 (also sidespin) [mass noun] Horizontal spinning motion given to a ball.The ancillary action of the cue ball, when using side spin to compensate for throw, is an entirely different subject that can not be covered here....
- As in the console versions, you're also able to add top and side spin to the ball while it's airborne, which may seem a little unrealistic, but it makes the game more enjoyable.
- But the value of side spin is only apparent when rail shots come into play.
9.1chiefly British Spin given to the cue ball in snooker and billiards by hitting it on one side.He put a lot of left hand side on the cue ball, sending it round the table.
10 [mass noun, usually with negative] British informal Boastful or pretentious manner or attitude: there was absolutely no side to him
Synonyms
pretension, pretentiousness, affectation, affectedness, ostentation, ostentatiousness, artificiality, attitudinizing, airs, airs and graces, superciliousness, posing, posturing, showing off, boasting, boastfulness, hypocrisy, snobbery, show, flashiness;
pomposity, pompousness, flatulence, grandiosity, grandness
informal snootiness
Australian/New Zealand informal guyver
rare fustian
11West Indian Either of a pair of things: a pair of shoes, one side winged by a bullet
verb
1 [no object] (side with/against) Support or oppose in a conflict, dispute, or debate: he felt that Max had betrayed him by siding with Beatrice...
- If New Labour prefers to side with big business, maybe it's time for a genuine socialist alternative?
- I believe she made this statement in an attempt to encourage me to side with her.
- An arbitrator was called in to settle the dispute and sided with the Flyers.
2 [with object] Provide with a side or sides; form the side of: the hills that side a long valley...
- We left the farmlands now, and the road was sided by hills and long grass waves glittering in the wind.
Phrases
by (or at) someone's side
from side to side
have something on one's side (or something is on one's side)
let the side down
on/from every side (or on/from all sides)
on (or to) one side
on the —— side
on the side
side by side
side of the fence
take sides
take (or draw) someone to/on one side
this side of
(on) this side of the grave
Derivatives
sideless
- He lives in Essex and works in an industry which praises bombast, self-aggrandisement, vanity and vacuity, yet is the most sincere, sideless, self-effacing person you could hope to meet.
- The M1077 and M1077A1 flatracks are sideless flatracks used to transport pallets of ammunition and other classes of supplies.
- There are fond memories of him in short sleeves and a deerstalker hat driving a topless, sideless jeep in the winter snow.
Origin
Old English sīde 'left or right part of the body', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zijde and German Seite, probably from a base meaning 'extending lengthways'.