sit by

phrasal verb

sat by; sitting by; sits by

: to make no effort to stop something bad or unpleasant from happening

I won't sit idly by while he ruins his life!

Examples of sit by in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By Jabari Young, Forbes Staff ON a hot summer afternoon at his new $15 million contemporary mansion in a posh suburb of Los Angeles, Mookie Betts is not sitting by his large infinity pool taking in the postcard-worthy view. —Jabari Young, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024

The Rebbe would sit by chazaras hashatz on a bench (used moments earlier by the yeshivah boys learning), facing the crowd, with his hand on his forehead, pointing in the siddur, following the chazzan word by word. —Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2024

Trump’s 2020 remarks resurfaced as Republicans, including the former president’s running mate JD Vance, have accused Walz of sitting by and watching Minneapolis burn. —Rachel Barber, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2024

China isn't sitting by idly, but has its own challenges Companies that have attempted to exit China for countries like Vietnam or Mexico haven’t always been successful, even when labor costs are low and there are few government restrictions. —Rick Barrett, Journal Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2024