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side

/ˈsaːd/
nounadjectiveverb

SIDE meaning: a bounding edge, flat face, half, or region of something; SIDE scores 5 points in Scrabble.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. A bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape.

    “A square has four sides.”

  2. A flat surface of a three-dimensional object; a face.

    “A cube has six sides.”

  3. One half (left or right, top or bottom, front or back, etc.) of something or someone.

    “Which side of the tray shall I put it on? The patient was bleeding on the right side.”

  4. A region in a specified position with respect to something.

    “Meet me on the north side of the monument.”

Adjective 3 meanings

  1. Being on the left or right, or toward the left or right; lateral.

  2. Indirect; oblique; incidental.

    “a side issue; a side view or remark”

  3. Far; distant.

Verb 4 meanings

  1. To ally oneself, be in an alliance, usually with "with" or rarely "in with"

    “Which will you side with, good or evil?”

  2. To lean on one side.

  3. To work (a timber or rib) to a certain thickness by trimming the sides.

  4. To furnish with a siding.

    “to side a house”

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From Middle English side, from Old English sīde (“side, flank”), from Proto-Germanic *sīdǭ (“side, flank, edge, shore”), derived from *sīdaz, probably from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“long, lasting”).

Similar and opposite words

SIDE is a common four-letter English word, ranked 279 by frequency with a recorded count of 155,667. Its meaning shifts with the object: a shape has an edge, a solid has a face, and a person or place can have a left, front, or other side. That range takes SIDE beyond geometry.

SIDE at a glance

  • SIDE scores 5 Scrabble points before any board bonus.
  • Three anagrams use the same tiles: DIES, DESI, and IDES.
  • Twenty-one one-letter neighbors include SITE, SIZE, and TIDE.
  • Twelve rhymes share SIDE’s “-ide” ending, including WIDE, RIDE, and PRIDE.

What does SIDE describe?

SIDE meaning changes with the thing being described. On a two-dimensional shape, it is a straight bounding edge; on a three-dimensional object, it can mean a flat face. Both senses point to a boundary or surface, rather than a direction.

For people and places, SIDE names one half or a region in a particular position: the left side of a person, for example, or the side of a building facing a street. The word also appears in familiar rhymes such as INSIDE, OUTSIDE, and ASIDE.

SIDE meaning, Scrabble score, and anagrams

SIDE is worth 5 points in Scrabble: S, I, and E are 1 point each, while D is 2. That makes it a modest base score, not a premium-tile play; a letter or word bonus square changes the final total.

Swapping the same four tiles gives DIES, DESI, and IDES. DIES is the everyday option; DESI and IDES are less familiar, so check your game's word list before playing either. Every rearrangement keeps the same 5-point tile total.

One-letter changes produce neighbors such as SITE, SIZE, WIDE, and RIDE. The full set has 21 entries, but several are uncommon; start with recognizable changes before spending a turn on forms like SIDA or SIDH.

Rhymes with side

All rhymes

One letter away

Change one letter, keep the rest

Questions people ask

How many points is SIDE worth in Scrabble?
SIDE is worth 5 points before board bonuses. S, I, and E each score 1 point, and D scores 2. A premium letter square can raise the value of a tile, while a word bonus can multiply the total for the play.
Is SIDE a valid Scrabble word?
Yes, SIDE is accepted in Collins, NWL2023, and ENABLE. Those are the word lists named for this entry, though the dictionary used in a particular game or tournament determines what you can play.
What are the anagrams of SIDE?
The three anagrams are DIES, DESI, and IDES. Each uses the same four letters as SIDE, so their tile values add to the same 5-point base score. DIES is the most familiar everyday form of the three.

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