by itself

idiom

1

: without being directly controlled by a person : automatically

The computer shuts off by itself if you haven't used it for a while.

The sprinkler will turn on by itself.

2

: with nothing nearby : alone

The house stood by itself at the end of the street.

Examples of by itself in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The United States didn’t will this change into existence by itself; there was no love lost between Sharaa and Iran, the chief patron of the former Syrian regime that killed hundreds of thousands during the course of the civil war. —Daniel Depetris, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026

This cyberdeck is not a computer by itself. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Jan. 2026

An individual screw that connects to a circuit board might cost three dollars on its own, but the part is commonly not sold by itself, requiring a full part replacement. —Tamia Fowlkes, jsonline.com, 30 Dec. 2025

Wildlife officials generally advise that simply seeing a coyote is not, by itself, an emergency, but that animals repeatedly appearing around homes, showing little fear of people or approaching pets can become a public safety concern. —Theo Karantsalis, Miami Herald, 25 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for by itself

• ourself
• bookshelf
• herself
• himself
• hisself
• meself
• myself
• nonself
• oneself
• thyself
• yourself
• elf