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
During that time period, American Airlines brought in more than $1 billion in the charges just by itself.
—
Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Apr. 2024
Congress has also taken up bipartisan calls to support an expansion of child tax credits, but demographers say a modest financial benefit to parents won’t do much by itself.
—Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Mar. 2024
The Dali can hold 10,000 TEUs, and an empty container by itself weighs more than 5,000 pounds.
—USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
Bundle plans with both services cost $9.99/month with ads ($2 more than Disney+ Basic with ads by itself) and $19.99/month without ads (versus $13.99/month for standalone Disney+ Premium).
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
According to its Yelp page, Cane Corner offers a variety of sugarcane juice, including by itself or with passion fruit, pineapple or coconut.
—Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 27 Mar. 2024
Thile is also a gifted singer whose stage witty patter is almost worth the price of admission by itself.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024
Dulce de leche by itself is too sweet for me—in an alfajor, the cake balances the dulce de leche.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Mar. 2024
Democrats have all but given up on keeping Sen. Joe Manchin's seat in West Virginia, leaving Republicans with a near-automatic pickup -- enough by itself to flip the Senate if Trump wins the presidency.
—Rick Klein, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2024
Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Apr. 2024
Congress has also taken up bipartisan calls to support an expansion of child tax credits, but demographers say a modest financial benefit to parents won’t do much by itself.
—Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Mar. 2024
The Dali can hold 10,000 TEUs, and an empty container by itself weighs more than 5,000 pounds.
—USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
Bundle plans with both services cost $9.99/month with ads ($2 more than Disney+ Basic with ads by itself) and $19.99/month without ads (versus $13.99/month for standalone Disney+ Premium).
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
According to its Yelp page, Cane Corner offers a variety of sugarcane juice, including by itself or with passion fruit, pineapple or coconut.
—Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 27 Mar. 2024
Thile is also a gifted singer whose stage witty patter is almost worth the price of admission by itself.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024
Dulce de leche by itself is too sweet for me—in an alfajor, the cake balances the dulce de leche.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Mar. 2024
Democrats have all but given up on keeping Sen. Joe Manchin's seat in West Virginia, leaving Republicans with a near-automatic pickup -- enough by itself to flip the Senate if Trump wins the presidency.
—Rick Klein, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'by itself.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near by itself
Cite this Entry
“By itself.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20itself. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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