Alongside vs. adjacent vs. adjoining

bloodywellwrite — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 03:37:27 +0000

Here’s a short, to-the-point entry for your post-July 4th enjoyment.

Alongside, adjacent and adjoining are all words that could be mistaken for synonyms, but they have distinct meanings:

Alongside = in the parallel position or along the side (yeah, no kidding): Lance Armstrong rode alongside his teammate.
Adjacent = next to but not necessarily connected with (those pesky prepositions are such detail-oriented suckers, aren’t they?): The bread store is adjacent to the bicycle shop, with an alley running between the two buildings.
Adjoining = next to and connected to (they share a boundary): The dining room adjoins the kitchen via a swinging door and a pass-through.

Short and easy — can’t beat it.

Happy trails!

SAK

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