Prepositions in English




Word Meaning
of Expressing direction.
to Indicating destination: In the direction of, and arriving at.
in Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits
for Towards.
with Against.
on Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.
at In or very near a particular place.
by Near or next to.
from With the source or provenance of or at.
into Going inside (of).
about In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of.
like Similar to, reminiscent of.
between In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See the Usage notes below.)
after Subsequently to; following in time; later than.
over Physical positioning.
through From one side of an opening to the other.
against (heading
physical
) A close but separated relationship.
under In or at a lower level than.
within Indicates spatial enclosure or containment.
without (archaic
or
literary
) Outside of, beyond.
during For all of a given time interval.
before Earlier than (in time).
towards Alternative form of toward
upon Being above and in contact with another.
around Defining a circle or closed curve containing a thing.
among Denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. (See Usage Note at amidst)
across To, toward or from the far side of (something that lies between two points of interest).
off Used to indicate movement away from a position on
behind At the back of; positioned with something else in front of.
since From: referring to a period of time ending in the present and defining it by the point in time at which it started, or or the period in which its starting point occurred.
until Up to the time of (something happening).
despite In spite of, notwithstanding, regardless of.
per for each
near Close to, in close proximity to.
above Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing.
outside On the outside of, not inside (something, such as a building).
along By the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to.
throughout In every part of; all through.
round (rare
_
in US
) Alternative form of around
beyond Further away than.
down From the higher end to the lower of.
up Toward the top of.
inside Within the interior of something, closest to the center or to a specific point of reference.
past beyond in place, quantity or time
onto Upon; on top of.
below Lower in spatial position than.
beside Next to; at the side of.
amongst Denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. See usage note at amidst.
via By way of; passing through.
beneath Below.
unlike Differently from; not in a like or similar manner.
except With the exception of; but.
alongside Together with or at the same time.
till Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
but (obsolete
outside
Scotland
) Outside of.
minus (informal) Without.
toward In the direction of.
opposite Facing, or across from.
amid Surrounded by; in the middle of; in the center of.
versus against, in opposition to.
underneath Under, below, beneath.
out (nonstandard
contraction of out of
) Away from the inside.
re About, regarding, with reference to; especially in letters and documents.
besides (obsolete) Beside.
aboard On board of; onto or into a ship, boat, train, plane.
amidst In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among.
notwithstanding In spite of, despite.
vs Alternative form of vs.
unto (archaic
or
poetic
) Up to, indicating a motion towards a thing and then stopping at it.
save Except; with the exception of.
post After; especially after a significant event that has long-term ramifications.
fer (dialectal
especially
British
) Eye dialect of for
pre Before (something significant).
outwith (chiefly
_
Scotland
Northern England
) Outside; beyond; outside of.
atop On the top of.
cross (Archaic) across
pro In favor of.
astride With one’s legs on either side of.
wi’ (regional) with
nr Abbreviation of lang=en
vis-a-vis Alternative form of vis-à-vis
wid (regional) Eye dialect of with.
o’er (literary) Contraction over
chez At the home of
vs. Abbreviation of versus
fur Eye dialect spelling of for
thru (Canada
US
informal
possibly
_
nonstandard
) Alternative spelling of through
bar Except, other than, besides.
a (Archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto.
betwixt (literary
or
archaic
) Between, specifically between two objects.
’bout (colloquial
or
poetic
) about.
afore Before; in advance of the time of.
ere (poetic
archaic
) Before; sooner than.
bout (colloquial) about
til (colloquial) until, till
nigh near; close to
apropos Regarding or concerning.
pon Alternative spelling of ‘pon; Contraction of upon
neath (poetic) Beneath.
wi (Yorkshire) with
‘twixt (literary) Betwixt.
vice instead of, in place of
inbetween Misspelling of in between
ower (Geordie) over
doon (Geordie) Down.
aboot nonstandard spelling of about
thro (Archaic) through
‘cept nonstandard form of except
dba (business) Doing business as; used to indicate the public alias of a business legally constituted under a different name
ajax (Polari) Nearby, over there
tofore (obsolete) Before.
abaat pronunciation spelling of about
afoor Eye dialect of afore
ahind (dialect) behind
close to Near
id=close to.
‘pon Contraction of upon. Also spelt pon. Often found in expressions such as
forby (UK
_
dialectal
Northern England
Scotland
archaic
) Beyond; past; more than; greater than; over and above; moreover.
aside from excluding
ahint (UK
_
dialectal
) behind
forbye Alternative form of forby
withinside (Archaic) Within, inside.
complete with Having some specified thing as an additional feature.
going on Indicates a time or age in the very near future.
care of (mail) For distribution by (the named intermediary).
vis-à-vis In relation to; compared with
imell (dialectal
or
obsolete
) Amid; among.
vis-á-vis Misspelling of vis-à-vis
forenenst (dialect) Over against; opposite to.
OTC Initialism of on the cheek
sence (dialectal) Alternative spelling of since
circa approximately, about
machiam (Singapore
informal
) like, similar to, resembling.
all up with Over for, finished for (negative connotation.)
a (archaic
slang
) Of.
doone Eye dialect of down
ageynest rare spelling of against
contra against; contrary or opposed to; in opposition or contrast to
such as (Idiomatic) For example.
ageynst obsolete form of against
amiddest Obsolete spelling of amidst
spite Notwithstanding; despite.
amiddst rare spelling of amidst
prior to (formal) before
on the heels of (Idiomatic) In close pursuit of; close behind.
by dint of Because of.
wit (Southern American English) Alternative spelling of with
wit’ Eye dialect spelling of with
ala (colloquial) Alternative form of a la
along about (idiomatic
informal
) Approximately; at around some time.
amidest Obsolete spelling of amidst
upside (informal) On the top of.
withoute archaic spelling of without
along of (obsolete) because of
in advance of Before; ahead of.
down to ready for
adown (Archaic) down
for all In spite of, despite.
fornenst Alternative form of forenenst
along the lines of Similar to, but not exactly equal.
in aid of (UK) for; for the sake of – usually placed at the end of a question when quizzing a person about why they have done something.
fornent Alternative form of forenenst
withoutside (obsolete) outside
faw Eye dialect of for; chiefly used to represent the accent of slaves in the United States.
befo (chiefly
in representations of
_
African American Vernacular English
) Eye dialect of before
alongest obsolete form of alongst
befo’ (AAVE) Eye dialect spelling of before
aboon (Scotland
British
_
dialectal
) Above.
accd’g to Abbreviation of according to
apres (rare
nonstandard
) After
ahn Eye dialect of on
emong obsolete form of among
to do with (Idiomatic) Related to or relevant to.
together with With or in proximity to another person.
‘longst (poetic) altform alongst
emongst obsolete form of amongst
après After.
in place of instead of
but for Except, except for, not counting; were it not for.
aprés nonstandard spelling of apres
befoir (Scotland) Obsolete spelling of before
or (now
archaic
or
dialect
) Before; ere.
closeby Alternative form of close by
abaft (nautical) Behind; toward the stern relative to some other object or position; aft of.
whith obsolete form of with
c̄ (medicine) with
alongst (Archaic) along
befor Misspelling of before
AKA Abbreviation of also known as
in view of &lit in
view
of
aka Alternative form of AKA
intiv (Geordie) into
bang on (idiomatic
British
Australia
) Exactly at
gain (obsolete) Against.
in virtue of (Idiomatic) by virtue of
furth (Scotland) out or outside
by means of by using (a thing)
throughe Obsolete spelling of through
uv (sometimes
leet
) Eye dialect of of
abaht (UK) Eye dialect of about
in back of (North America) behind
owing to Because of, on account of.
unincluding Not including; excluding.
other than (Idiomatic) Except, besides.
other then Misspelling of other than
roun’ Eye dialect of round
aloof (obsolete) away from; clear of
than introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives, and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it seeks to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates.
wired into connected via wires or nerves to
sithence (obsolete) Since.
ben (Scotland
northern England
) In, into.
in bed with Sharing one’s bed with.
on the order of In the manner of; along the lines of; like; of a similar kind to; more-or-less equivalent to.
oute Obsolete spelling of out
’round Contraction of around.
in behalf of Alternative form of on behalf of
abt. contraction of about
outside of Outside.
on the other side of &lit on
the
other
side
of
in between Between
outen (archaic
or
dialectal
) Out; out of; out from.
WRT Initialism of with respect to
in re (chiefly
_
legal
) In the matter of; with regard to.
upon the heels of Alternative form of on the heels of
wif (informal
dialectal
nonstandard
) with
amonge archaic spelling of among
come Used to indicate an event, period, or change in state occurring after a present time.
wrt Alternative form of WRT
amongest obsolete form of amongst
amyddest obsolete form of amidst
on (UK
_
dialectal
Scotland
) Without.
amyddst obsolete form of amidst
on the point of (Idiomatic) Very nearly; imminent; close.
amydst obsolete form of amidst
thorough (obsolete) Through.
in relation to concerning; in reference to.
‘midst (poetic)
‘mong An aphetic form of among
aout (rare) Eye dialect of out
midst (rare) Among, in the middle of; amid.
in case of If there should be.
in respect of Regarding; concerning; pertaining to; with reference to.
take away minus
mong (obsolete) a variant spelling of ’mong
in right of (law) a power held as a consequence of another power, or held as a consequence of a relationship
erbout Eye dialect of about
ap. Abbreviation of apud Used in scholarly works to cite a reference at second hand
exept Obsolete spelling of except
anear near
ohn Alternative form of on
by virtue of (Idiomatic) because of; on the grounds of; by reason of
to the effect with more or less the meaning of
alow (Scotland) Below.
anearst rare spelling of anear
at peace with (Idiomatic) Not disturbed or upset by.
orf (eye dialect) off
aslant (Archaic) diagonally over or across
abreast Abreast of; alongside.
mauger Alternative spelling of maugre
from off off from; off
abun (obsolete
UK
regional
) Alternative form of above
foregain (Now
_
chiefly
_
dialectal
) Directly opposite to; in the opposite scale to.
belong (Australian Aboriginal‎
optionally followed by ‘to’
) Of, belonging to.
ferninst (US
regional
) against
foregainst (Now
_
dialectal
) Directly opposite to; in the opposite scale to.
maugre (Archaic) Notwithstanding; in spite of.
A. after
dureing archaic spelling of during
thorow Obsolete spelling of through
cum 1=Used in indicating a thing with two roles, functions, or natures, or a thing that has changed from one to another.
on account of (Idiomatic) Because of, due to, owing to.
ayein altform ayen
a. about
to the power of (mathematics) Indicating an exponent.
befure Eye dialect of before
rather than instead of; in preference to.
apropos of Concerning; with regard to; about; apropos.
arter Eye dialect of after
despight Obsolete spelling of despite
affor Obsolete spelling of afore
ayen Back against.
unnear (chiefly
obsolete
) Not near; at a distance from.
besyde archaic spelling of beside
qua in the capacity of
save for With the exception of
‘gainst (poetic) Contraction of ‘against‘.
abaout Eye dialect of about
outa Alternative spelling of outta
thro’ (poetic) through
gainst (poetic) against
for sake of Because of, for the sake of.
bet (knitting) between
in spite of (Idiomatic) Despite, irrespective of, notwithstanding.
abune (Northern England
Scotland
) Alternative form of aboon
on behalf of Speaking or acting for.
over against In comparison to.
viâ (British spelling) Dated form of via
adjacent (US) Next to; adjacent to; beside.
at the expense of By taking away from.
over and above in addition to, supplementary to
at the feet of (Idiomatic) As a disciple, student, subordinate or worshiper of.
longa (Australian Aboriginal) on, in, at, to
at the hand of Alternative form of at the hands of
with an eye to (Idiomatic) With an intention to.
at the hands of By the actions of (someone).
frome Obsolete spelling of from
gainward (obsolete) Toward; facing; over against.
with an eye towards (Idiomatic) With an intention, goal, or consideration to.
instead of In lieu of; in place of; rather than.
abroad Throughout, over.
hard by (dated) Close to; near; in proximity to.
nearhand (now
_
dialectal
) Nearby.
a la In the style or manner of.
downe Obsolete spelling of down
in terms of (mathematics) [of one variable or unit of measurement x which has a known relationship to another y] Using equivalent expressions in y in place of expressions in x; mapping x to y.
bewest (UK
_
dialectal
chiefly
Scotland
) To the west of.
ter (dialectal) Eye dialect of to
untill Obsolete spelling of until
à la Alternative form of a la
all along &lit all
along
bet. Abbreviation of between
quoad (Archaic) With respect to.
offa (colloquial) Off of.
FBO (US
finance
) Initialism of for the benefit of (e.g., on a check or other financial instrument sent to a custodian).
agaynest obsolete form of against
in face of Face to face.
according to (Idiomatic) Based on what is said or stated by; on the authority of.
agaynst Obsolete spelling of against
mang (Devon) Amid, amongst, among.
fromward (now
_
dialect
Southern English
Midlands
West Country
) From; away from.
fromwards (obsolete) away from
whiz (slang) Eye dialect of with
in favor of For; in support of; approving, supporting.
for the love of (Idiomatic) Used to form interjections expressing exasperation.
up against (Idiomatic) Facing; challenging, or opposing.
apart from except for; besides
in favour of Alternative form of in favor of
ayond (Northern England) Beyond.
amoung archaic spelling of among
ayont (Scotland
Northern England
) Beyond.
on this side of (Not with a specific meaning)
alang Eye dialect of along
amoungest obsolete form of amongst
‘mongst (archaic
poetic
) amongst
wyth Obsolete spelling of with
amoungst archaic form of amongst
twixt (literary) betwixt, between
dahn (UK) Eye dialect of down
alangst obsolete form of alongst
anigh (Archaic) Nigh; near.
inbetwixt (Archaic) between; in between
to-ward archaic form of toward
on to Upon; on top of.
anighst obsolete form of anigh
B4 (messaging) Abbreviation of before
like unto (archaic
chiefly
biblical
in adjective or adverb phrases that express resemblance
) like, similar to
on top of Atop
wythoute Obsolete spelling of without
as against In comparison to
wythowt obsolete form of without
up for (Idiomatic) Willing to participate in; interested in.
A.K.A. Alternative spelling of AKA
for the sake of Because of; out of consideration for; in the interest of.
uppon archaic spelling of upon
bye Obsolete spelling of by
over to Used on television or radio to indicate a change to another reporter or commentator.
wythowte obsolete form of without
wiv (informal) with
what with (Idiomatic) Owing to; because of; as a result of.
with regard to Concerning; about.
in the event of In case of.
‘neath (poetic) Alternative form of beneath
aboutes (obsolete) Alternative form of abouts
with respect to Regarding; concerning; pertaining to.
for want of for lack of; because of the absence of
regardless Paying no attention to; regardless of.
in the eyes of In the opinion of, from the perspective of, as far as concerns.
behinde Obsolete spelling of behind
regardless of without attention to
abouts (obsolete) About.
thanks to Because of; normally used with a positive connotation, though it can be used sarcastically.
in the face of (idiomatic
colloquial
) despite, against, contrary to
courtesy of thanks to.
anti (rare) altform anti-
uptill (obsolete
rare
) to; against
in front of At or near the front part of (something).
as for Regarding; about; concerning.
behine (Archaic) Alternative spelling of behind
ablow (Scotland) Below.
‘long Abbreviation of along
behither (rare) On this side of.
wiz (slang
especially represents slurred or drunken speech
) Eye dialect of with
rel (mathematics) Abbreviation of relative to
froward (obsolete) Away from.
upto Misspelling of up to
agin (colloquial
or
now
_
often
humorous
) Alternative form of against
except for With the exception of
imbetween (nonstandard) In between.
apud Used in scholarly works to cite a reference at second hand
foreanent (Scotland
obsolete
) Over against; opposite to.
benorth (now
_
Scotland
) North of.
fo (informal) Alternative spelling of fo’
fo’ (informal) for
twell Eye dialect of till
F/B/O Alternative spelling of lang=en
aginst (dialect
nonstandard
) archaic spelling of against
f/k/a Having previously had the specified name.
in the light of In the illumination from (a source of light).
half (UK
Ireland
) a half-hour after, thirty minutes after (used with the number of the hour)
thanne Obsolete spelling of than
sauf obsolete form of save
anenst (UK
dialect
Scotland
) Over against.
vith Eye dialect of with
ageinest rare spelling of against
agyen (Geordie) against
anent (Archaic) Concerning, with regard to, about, in respect to, as to, insofar as, inasmuch as
outta (colloquial
US
) Out of.
vor Eye dialect of for
vpon Obsolete spelling of upon
vppon Obsolete spelling of upon
afther Eye dialect of after
ageinst obsolete form of against
untyll Obsolete spelling of until
outtake (Archaic) except; besides.
outtaken (obsolete) except; save
in the middle of &lit in
middle
of
on or about approximately.
aftre Obsolete spelling of after
in the midst of In the middle of. Amidst. Amongst
hoff Eye dialect of off
because (uncommon
slang
especially
Internet
) On account of, because of.
afront in front of
thoo Eye dialect of through
across from Facing
because of On account of; due to, for the purpose of
ontop Misspelling of on top
up till (informal) Until.
abeam (nautical) Alongside.
as of (Idiomatic) from, at, or until a specified time
in keeping with In accordance with.
up to next to; near; towards; as far as.
out of From the inside to the outside of; having emerged from.
um Alternative form of umbe
all over (Idiomatic) Everywhere; covering completely.
ever since Continuously since.
betune (Irish) between
acrosst (obsolete) across
par By; with.
bove Above.
beyant Eye dialect of beyond
acrost (nonstandard
dialect
) Alternative form of across
as opposed to in contrast to, rather than, instead of.
beneathe Obsolete spelling of beneath
upwards of more than; in excess of
agen Obsolete spelling of again
as per Consistent, or in accordance, with; according to
in lieu of instead of; in place of
in the process of &lit in
process
of
off of (now
_
colloquial
) Off; from.
in light of (idiomatic
Australia, Canada, US
) given, considering
as regards regarding, concerning
short Deficient in.
awaye Obsolete spelling of away
nought withstanding Alternative spelling of noughtwithstanding
en Used in various phrases borrowed from French or formed as if borrowed from French (see “Derived terms” below).
ascr. Abbreviation of ascriptus Ascribed to.
next On the side of; next to.
as soon as &lit as
soon
nought-withstanding Alternative spelling of nought withstanding
abowt (obsolete
outside of
_
dialects
) Alternative spelling of about
absent In the absence of; without.
overthwart (archaic
UK
_
dialect
) From one side to the other of; across.
mid (obsolete) With.
athwart (Archaic) From one side to the other side of.
contrary to despite; in opposition to (an assumption, etc.)
ab Abbreviation of about
atween (Archaic) between
endlong Along (as opposed to across), from end to end of.
thruout (US
Canada
) nonstandard spelling of throughout
vytin Obsolete spelling of within
next door (dialectal) Next door to.
in addition to as well as
astern of (nautical) behind
in love with See ‘in love
noughtwithstanding Obsolete spelling of notwithstanding
up until (informal) Until.
umb Alternative form of umbe
close by Close, near, nearby: in proximity (to).
atwix (Geordie) between
vrom Eye dialect of from
inmid (obsolete) amid.
foreby Alternative form of forby
inmiddes (obsolete) amidst.
agenest obsolete form of against
widout (eye dialect) without
due to caused by; resulting from.
again (obsolete or dialectal) Against.
next to Beside; alongside.
half past Thirty minutes past a certain hour.
umbe (dialectal) Around, about; after.
ahead of In front of.

Note: these words have been obtained from Wiktionary and have been classified and improved through automated computer linguistics processes.