abide

abide

verb \ə-ˈbīd\

abode \-ˈbōd\ or abid·edabid·ing

Definition of ABIDE

transitive verb

1

: to wait for : await

2

a : to endure without yielding : withstand b : to bear patiently : tolerate <cannot abide such bigots>

3

: to accept without objection <will abide your decision>

intransitive verb

1

: to remain stable or fixed in a state

2

: to continue in a place : sojourn

— abid·er noun

— abide by

1

: to conform to <abide by the rules>

2

: to acquiesce in <will abide by your decision>

Examples of ABIDE

1. abide in the house of the Lord
2. a love that abided till the end of their lives
3. Now his anger had poisoned all relationships, no one could be put in the two empty beds in the room, and not even his long-suffering sister could abide him in her house. —Peter Pouncey, Rules for Old Men Waiting, 2005
4. A former party functionary, Yeltsin replaced Communist ideology with a supremely simplified vision of democracy, which boiled down to two tenets: He could not abide Communists, and he supported freedom of the press. —Masha Gessen, New Republic, 5 June 2000
5. … Cocos Island, a mountainous chunk of barely penetrable rain forest that abides in watery solitude 300 miles off Central America's Pacific coast. Eighteen square miles in area, it is considered the world's largest uninhabited tropical island. —Tom Koppel, Travel, November 1989

Origin of ABIDE

Middle English, from Old English ābīdan, from ā-, perfective prefix + bīdan to bide; akin to Old High German ir-, perfective prefix — more at BIDE

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to ABIDE

Synonyms: ¹stay, dwell, hang around, remain, stick around, tarry

Antonyms: bail, bail out, bug out, buzz (off), clear off [chiefly British], clear out, cut out, depart, exit, get off, go, go off, leave, move, pack (up or off), peel off, pike (out or off), pull out, push off, push on, quit, shove (off), take off, vamoose, walk out

Related Words: await, hang on, hold on, wait; dally, dawdle, linger, loiter; outstay, overstay

Near Antonyms: abscond, book [slang], decamp, escape, evacuate, flee, fly, get out, run away, scat, scram, skip; abandon, desert, forsake, vacate

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Rhymes with ABIDE

allied, applied, aside, astride, backside, backslide, bankside, beachside, bedside, beside, bestride, betide, blear-eyed, blindside, blow-dried, blue-eyed, broadside, bromide, bug-eyed, Burnside, clear-eyed, cockeyed, cold-eyed, collide, confide, courtside, cowhide, cross-eyed, curbside, dayside, decide, deride, divide, dockside, doe-eyed, downside, downslide, dry-eyed, ebb tide, elide, field guide, fireside, flip side, flood tide, fluoride, foreside, four-eyed, free ride, freeze-dried, Girl Guide, glass-eyed, graveside, green-eyed, hagride, hang glide, hard-eyed, hawkeyed, hayride, high tide, hillside, horsehide, inside, in stride, ironside, joyride, kingside, lakeside, landslide, low tide, lynx-eyed, misguide, moon-eyed, neap tide, nearside, nightside, noontide, offside, onside, outride, outside, pie-eyed, poolside, pop-eyed, preside, prompt side, provide, quayside, queenside, rawhide, red tide, reside, ringside, riptide, roadside, seaside, self-pride, sharp-eyed, shipside, shoreside, Shrovetide, sloe-eyed, snowslide, springtide, squint-eyed, stateside, statewide, storewide, Strathclyde, streamside, strong side, subside, tailslide, tongue-tied, topside, trackside, trailside, untried, upside, vat-dyed, walleyed, war bride, waveguide, wayside, wide-eyed, wild-eyed, worldwide, yuletide