Meaning & use

by-product

noun·Academic

Something produced incidentally during a process, in addition to the main product or result.

See it in a sentence

Sawdust is a common by-product of cutting lumber at the mill.

Her confidence was a welcome by-product of months of consistent practice.

A note on using this word

By-product applies both to physical manufacturing waste and, figuratively, to unintended outcomes of some other activity or effort.

Words with a similar meaning

side effectoffshoot

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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