- Against implies opposition, sometimes place where. In colloquial English it is sometimes used to express time, now and then also in literary English; for example: She contrived to fit up the baby's cradle for me against night.
- Many phrases are used as single prepositions: by means of, by virtue of, by help of, by dint of, by force of; out of, on account of, by way of, for the sake of; in consideration of, in spite of, in defiance of, instead of, in view of, in place of; with respect to, with regard to, according to, agreeably to; and some others.
- Besides all these, there are some prepositions that have so many meanings that they require separate and careful treatment: on (upon), at, by, for, from, of, to, with.
- At: The general meaning of at is near, close to, after a verb or expression implying position; and towards after a verb or expression indicating motion. It defines position approximately, while in is exact, meaning within. Its principal uses are as follows:
(1) Place where. They who heard it listened with a curling horror at the heart.— J. F. Cooper .
(2) Time, more exact, meaning the point of time at which. He wished to attack at daybreak. —Parkman.
(3) Direction. The mother stood looking wildly down at the unseemly object. —Cooper.
(4) Source or cause, meaning because of, by reason of. I felt my heart chill at the dismal sound.— T. W. Knox .
(5) Then the idiomatic phrases at last, at length, at any rate, at the best, at the worst, at least, at most, at first, at once, at all, at one, at naught, at random, etc.; and phrases signifying state or condition of being, as, at work, at play, at peace, at war, at rest, etc.