aside

1 of 3

adverb

ə-ˈsīd 

1

: to or toward the side

stepped aside

2

: away from others or into privacy

pulled him aside

3

: out of the way especially for future use : away

putting aside savings

4

: away from one's thought or consideration

All kidding aside, we really need to get busy.

aside

2 of 3

noun

1

: an utterance not meant to be heard by someone

especially : an actor's speech heard by the audience but supposedly not by other characters

2

: a comment or discussion that does not relate directly to the main subject being discussed : digression

He frequently interrupted his narrative with amusing asides.

aside

3 of 3

preposition

obsolete

: beyond, past

Synonyms of aside

Noun

• tangent

Examples of aside in a Sentence

Adverb

He stepped aside and let her pass.

He threw his coat aside.

She laid the book aside.

He elbowed people aside as he moved through the crowd.

He took her aside to speak to her privately.

Someone grabbed him and pulled him aside.

Noun

She made a joke about the food in a muttered aside to her husband.

The book includes several lengthy asides about the personal lives of scientists involved in the project.

In his speech he mentioned her contributions almost as an aside, despite the fact that she was the one who came up with the idea originally.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

Those specifics aside, more stunningly, researchers discovered that these brave, early explorers of new worlds demonstrated a different way of moving than had been previously understood. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 11 Jan. 2026

The law was written to give additional power to developers who set aside at least 30% of their new apartments for affordable-level rents over the next 40 years. —Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 11 Jan. 2026

Noun

As an aside, if the home sells for more than the original list price, the principal keeps all the upside. —Jeff Lazerson, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026

Twichell has written often about her practice of Zen Buddhism, and one of her rare asides, offered after a particularly sad poem, had the feeling of ancient wisdom. —Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2025

Preposition

Like other banks, such as BofA, Citigroup set aside less loan loss provisions, an optimistic sign about borrowers’ ability to pay back debt. —Morgan Chittum,jeff Marks,matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 14 Jan. 2026

Sullivan suggests setting aside time to give your indoor plants some extra attention in January. —Kristin Hohenadel, The Spruce, 14 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adverb

see side entry 1

Noun

see side entry 1

Preposition

see side entry 1

First Known Use

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1751, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Preposition

1592, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing aside

• aside from
• brush aside
• cast aside
• joking aside
• lay aside
• pull aside
• push aside
• put aside
• set aside
• stand aside
• step aside
• sweep aside
• take (someone) aside
• wave aside

Rhymes for aside

• abide
• allied
• applied
• astride
• azide
• backside
• bankside
• bastide
• bayside
• bedside
• belied
• beside

Kids Definition

aside

1 of 2 adverb

ə-ˈsīd 

1

: to or toward the side

stepped aside

2

: out of the way especially for future use : away

put money aside for school

3

: away from one's thought or consideration

all kidding aside

aside

2 of 2 noun

: words meant not to be heard by someone

especially : an actor's words supposedly not heard by others on the stage