Words / B2

wair-BEYE/weəˈbaɪ/

Whereby means by which, according to which (formal): a system whereby; an agreement whereby. By which is the plain twin; thereby means “by that means” (result). They set up a system whereby clashes are logged on the portal. Mix-up: whereby is not “where by” two words. Do not drop it into a text where “so that” would do.

Meaning

By which; according to which (formal).

Examples

• “They set up a system whereby clashes are logged on the portal, not on paper.”
• “A clause whereby fees freeze for a year featured in the contract, which is the legal sense.”

Good to know

a system / process / agreement whereby. Plain: by which. Contrast: thereby (by that). Formal policy and law. “By which”, not a location.

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