Is it ‘beside’ or ‘besides’?

Beside and besides are related words, but they don’t have the same meaning.

  • Beside is a preposition meaning ‘next to’. It can also be used to mean ‘compared with’.
  • Besides can be used as a preposition and adverb. It has various meanings including ‘apart from’, ‘in addition to’, and ‘moreover’, but isn’t used for literal physical closeness.