Beside and Besides are different parts-of-speech, with several different meanings. The quickest way to get their meanings is to look at some examples.
Beside (used as a preposition):
Please stand beside me so I will know you are there. (Beside means next to)
This movie ranks beside the best thrillers ever made. (Beside means equal to)
Your offer sounds much better beside the more expensive one. (Beside means compared with
There is also an idiom beside the point, which means not relevant.
Besides, in contrast, is an adverb, meaning other than, or also:
Besides (as an adverb):
Nobody besides the murderer had access to the gun. (Besides means other than)
And besides . . . one should be kind as well as competent. (Besides means also)
You can see how these two meanings often overlap, and overlap with "next to":
Besides the pizza, what else should I bring?
Nowadays, some English speakers may mix up these two words, but others still maintain the difference.
More Examples of How to Use "Besides" in a Sentence
- Mrs. Jones, who lives by the lake, will be beside Mrs. Smith, who lives next door, in the parade this afternoon.
- We get to sit beside each other during the movie!
- The leaves on the trees beside the camp were starting to change color.
- Jimmy looked out the window beside his desk at the people outside.
- I want you to stand beside me during the ceromony.
- Julio walked down the street, beside the old woman, who brought the past of these streets to life with the stories from her youth.
- A lamp beside the table seemed faintly out of place.
- The road beside the river led to the abandoned house.
- The horse was beside the barn, where it lay on its side.
- Reginald was beside her, with his arm around her shoulder, and he would stay there until she was ready.
- I found a penny beside the road—a lucky penny on an unlucky road.
- I saw a bear beside the tree and froze in fear.
- If you need to rest awhile, come sit beside me.
- I would be beside myself if someone pulled that prank on me.
- In the field, beside the cliff, the rabbits ran.
More Examples of How to Use "Beside" in a Sentence
- Besides the small box of colored pencils, my desk is a sea of paper.
- My desk is a sea of paper, and besides the many different colored pencils, it's full of things to do.
- Besides that, he developed a new theory of relativity and it soon became widely accepted.
- Besides, it was raining that day, so who cares that I didn't take you to the park?
- Besides that, Linda still needed to finish her homework.
- Besides their favorite restaurant, they also had plans to visit a museum.
- Besides getting the job done timely, they also had to stay on budget.
- I was glad I left early because the movie was terrible. Besides, she spent the entire time talking about her previous relationship.
- Besides visiting the animals, you also can learn about your local area.
- Besides the obvious benefits, there are also some optional extras that can be purchased.
- Besides going to school and work, he also has to take care of his younger siblings.
- Besides being a policeman, Ben is also an artist.
- I don't have the time and besides, they don’t want me there anyway.
- There's nothing to do besides eat.
- Besides being a journalist, David was also a poet.
- Besides being a good leader, Antonio also has a warm heart.
- I have a lot of other things to do besides working overtime just to make my boss look good.