sit by

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Meghan turned to wave at the camera before the scene transitioned to one of their children sitting by a fireplace. Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 14 Sep. 2026 One teacher tried to protect her students At the cemetery, Fatemeh Barani sat by the grave of her daughter, Nasim Neyestani, a second grade teacher at the school. Amir Vahdat, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 Fairchild, sitting by the pool at her home in Nashville, nods in agreement. Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2026 Nick, meanwhile, got a kick out of the debate that erupted over whether something sitting by the curb should reasonably be considered free. Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sit by

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sit by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sit%20by. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster