DictionaryAI

by the way

idiom · idiom

2 meanings of by the way

Practice

  1. 1
    passing remarkidiom
    Used when you add something that is not the main thing you are talking about.

    Like a small note written in the corner of a letter.

    By the way, I saw your brother at the store today.

    We're having pizza tonight, and by the way, Sam is coming too.

    Similarincidentally, apropos

    Note
  2. 2
    off topicidiomUK
    Not about the main thing that people are talking about.

    The weather was bad, but that's by the way.

    How much it cost is by the way. We needed a new car.

    Note

Use it in a sentence

Write your own sentence with by the way, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.

Origin

It first meant "by the side of the road". Its modern meaning dates from the 1600s.