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
While designing the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, in the 1990s, the architect would sit by the river that bifurcates the city, looking at different metal treatments.
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Belinda Luscombe, Time, 6 Dec. 2025
Slurp up one of those on a snowy day while sitting by the firepit.
—Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 3 Dec. 2025
In the heartbreaking video, Oreo sits by his food bowl, unsure where to go or what to do.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
An emaciated man sat by a child stretched out semiconscious on a cot, where two other small children were receiving oxygen.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sit by
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Belinda Luscombe, Time, 6 Dec. 2025
Slurp up one of those on a snowy day while sitting by the firepit.
—Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 3 Dec. 2025
In the heartbreaking video, Oreo sits by his food bowl, unsure where to go or what to do.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
An emaciated man sat by a child stretched out semiconscious on a cot, where two other small children were receiving oxygen.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sit by
Cite this Entry
“Sit by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sit%20by. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
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