by accident 偶然地， 意外地
I met her by accident in a crowded bus. 我意外地在擁擠的公共汽車中遇見她。
We met each other again completely by accident. 我們再次相遇，完全出於偶然。
by air 乘飛機，由航空
Are you going by air or by sea? 你坐飛機還是坐船去？
I shall send the letter by air. 我要由航空寄這封信。
by birth 出生，血統；天生，生來
He’s French by birth. 他是法國血統。
She’s an actor by birth. 她是天生的演員。
by chance 偶然地，無意中
I met him by chance yesterday. 昨天我無意中遇見他。
I met her quite by chance. 我遇見她完全是偶然的。
by cheque / by check 用支票
Are you paying in cash or by cheque? 你付現款還是付支票？
You won’t be able to pay by check if you don’t have your ID card. 如果你沒有身份證的話，就不能以支票付款了。
by choice 憑喜愛，出於自願
I should take this one by choice. 我要選擇這個。
I live here by choice. 我自願選擇住在這兒。
by comparison 比較起來，用比較的方法
The old method suffers by comparison. 老方法相形見絀。
This one is really cheaper by comparison. 相比之下，這個確實便宜。
by contrast 對比之下
She had almost failed the exam, but her sister, by contrast, had done very well. 她考試差點不及格，而她的妹妹相比之下考得很好。
The technology sector is doing badly. Old economy stocks, by contrast, are performing well again. 技術行業表現很差。對比之下，傳統經濟股則再次表現良好。
【注】若表示“與……相比”，則說by contrast with。如：
Tom’s marks by contrast with Harry’s marks were excellent. 與哈利的分數相比，湯姆的分數算得上優秀。
by day 在白天，趁白天
They don’t work by day but by night. 他們白天不工作，晚上工作。
Do you prefer traveling by day or by night? 你喜歡在白天還是在夜晚行路？
【注】該短語通常與by night對比使用；另外，注意它與by the day（按日計算）意思不同。如：
They got paid by the day. 他們拿日薪。
by degrees 逐漸地，慢慢地
She is getting better by degrees. 她（的身體）逐漸好轉。
By degrees their friendship grew into love. 他們的友誼慢慢地變為愛情。
by design 故意地，蓄意地
Did you do this by design? 你是不是故意做這件事的？
He was there by design, not by accident, as we had at first supposed. 他到那裡去是有意圖的，並不像我們當初所猜想的那樣出於偶然。
【注】該短語習慣上是用介詞by，不要受on purpose（故意地）的影響，而誤用介詞on。比較by chance（無意地）和by accident（無意地），兩者均用by。
by force 憑暴力，用武力，強迫地
He obtained her consent by force. 他靠強迫手段取得了她的同意。
They occupied by force the whole territory of Czecho . 他們用武力侵佔了捷克斯洛伐克的全部國土。
by hand 手工制的，（信）由專人送的
Her sweater is knitted by hand. 她的毛衣是手工編織的。
The letter was delivered by hand. 這封信是專人遞送的。
by heart 記住，背下
I must get this poem by heart. 我得把這首詩背下來。
Learning lists of words off by heart isn’t a good way to increase your vocabulary. 背誦單詞表不是擴大詞彙量的好方法。
by halves 半途而廢地，不完全地
Never do things by halves. 做事絕對不要半途而廢。
We do nothing by halves. 我們做事從不半途而廢。
by inches 差一點，一點一點地
The car missed me by inches. 汽車差一點撞到我。
He is dying by inches. 他奄奄一息。
by land 由陸路
Some came by land and some by water. 一些人由陸路來，一些人從水路來。
The journey to the far side of the island is quicker by land than by sea. 走陸路至海島的另一端比從海路走快捷。
by mistake 錯誤地
I used your towel by mistake. 我誤用了你的毛巾。
A letter for me was left by mistake at his desk. 我的信被錯放在他的書桌上。
by name 名叫；用名字
A strange man, Fred by name, came to see me. 有個名叫弗雷德的陌生人來找我。
The teacher knows all his students by name. 這位老師叫得出所有學生的名字。
by nature 生來，天生
That man is proud by nature. 那個人生性驕傲。
He is by nature kind and generous. 他是個天生仁慈和寬宏大量的人。
by night 在夜間，利用夜間
What do you think of Paris by night? 你認為巴黎的夜景如何？
These animals sleep by day and hunt by night. 這些動物日間睡覺，夜間獵食。
【注】該短語通常與by day對比使用。
by oneself 獨自地，單獨地
One can’t play chess by oneself. 一個人不能單獨下棋。
She did it all by herself. 這事完全是她獨立做的。
by post 郵寄，用郵寄的方式
I’ll send you the book by post. 我會把書寄給你的。
The messages of congratulation by post and telegraph poured in upon him from home and abroad. 賀信和賀電從國內外雪片似地向他飛來。
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