side
part of speech
noun, verb, adjective (side, sides, sided)
meaning for a pupil
1) A side is one of the straight lines that make a flat shape. A square has 4 sides. tree →
2) A side is one of the flat faces of a solid, or a surface of a thing: both sides of the paper. tree →
3) A side is the left or right part of something, or the edge: the side of the road. tree →
4) A side is a team or group in a game or argument. tree →
5) To side with someone is to support them. tree →
6) A side (side dish) is extra food served with a meal: «a side of chips». tree →
7) (casual) «On the side» means extra or secret: «a job on the side». tree →
8) (casual, UK) «Side» can mean showing off: «no side to her» means she is not stuck-up. tree →
9) (euphemism) «Side effect» means an unwanted result, often of a medicine. tree →
10) (formal) «Edge», «flank», «lateral face» and «party» (in an argument) are stiff words for side. tree →
sense in the lessons
Maths: sides of shapes (lengths, number of sides); perimeter = sum of the sides; «each side» of a road doubles the count. Everyday: side by side, on the other side, side door, side effect, take sides. Safety: walk on the side of the road facing traffic. Sport: the home side, the away side. In casual talk: «a side of fries», «whose side are you on?». In the exam voice: «each lateral edge measures 5 cm», «a polygon of 6 sides». Phrases: «side by side», «on the bright side», «take sides», «side with», «on my mother's side».
examples
- A square has 4 equal sides. tree →
- Each side of the triangle is 5 cm. tree →
- There are 6 trees on each side of the road. tree →
- What is the perimeter of a square with side 7 m? tree →
- Write on both sides of the paper. tree →
- The two friends walked side by side. tree →
- Which side are you on? tree →
- A cube has 6 faces, sometimes called sides. tree →
- burger with a side of fries, 3 of us, how many sides then (casual) tree →
- Whose side are you on, you traitor? (rough) tree →
- Look on the bright side, it's only 2 more pages. tree →
- Each side of a regular hexagon measures 4 cm; compute the perimeter thereof. (formal exam) tree →
- There are two sides to every question. tree →
note
Countable: a side, sides. Perimeter = sum of the sides; «each side» of a road doubles the count. Trap: on «both sides» multiply by 2. Trap: in 3-D shapes say «faces» for flat surfaces and «edges» for lines. «A side» of food is one extra dish. «On my mother's side» means in her family. Formal «lateral» = of the side; «thereof» = of it.
In the corpora
- In December 2022 a Netflix series told Harry and Meghan's side of their story; others in it did not reply on camera.
- On matters of taste, like cats versus dogs, there is no single right answer, so bots usually avoid taking sides.
- Some theatres are tiny rooms, and some plays are "in the round", with the audience on all sides.
- Gorillas and chimps walk on all fours leaning on their knuckles, while orangutans walk on their fists or the sides of their hands.
- Dolphins sleep with half of their brain at a time, switching sides, so they can keep coming up to breathe.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «side» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.