thereby

adverb

there·​by t͟her-ˈbī 

ˈt͟her-ˌbī

1

: by that : by that means

thereby lost her chance to win

2

: connected with or with reference to that

thereby hangs a tale

—William Shakespeare

Examples of thereby in a Sentence

He signed the contract, thereby forfeiting his right to the property.

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of destroying the molecules (which is what most people thought would happen), the beam caused the hydrogens to detach and the carbons to link up, thereby slowly building up a diamond lattice. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2025

Others want to encourage people of retirement age, 67 and above, to continue working and earn up to €2,000 per month, tax-exempt, thereby encouraging more people to stay working for longer. —Alex Ledsom, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2025

Bitcoin will probably indeed come to save us from fiat money, and thereby restore normal portfolio preferences across the board, including in real estate. —Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

But mostly Cai keeps the emotional momentum building without resorting to shock tactics, thereby buying himself credibility for developments that could otherwise seem a little on the nose. —Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing thereby

• thereby hangs a tale

Rhymes for thereby

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify

Kids Definition

thereby

adverb

there·​by t͟ha(ə)r-ˈbī 

t͟he(ə)r-;

ˈt͟ha(ə)r-ˌbī,

ˈt͟he(ə)r-

1

: by that : by that means

thereby lost her chance to win

2

: connected with or with reference to that

thereby hangs a tale