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
And the world sits by and says and does almost nothing.
—
Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2026
Less than a minute into the video, as the singer sits by herself in the middle of the desert, the camera suddenly flashes to Blue, who is wearing a dress nearly identical to her mom's gown.
—Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
Illuminated by the late afternoon sun that streamed through the skylight, the Kokun walked over and sat by her bed.
—Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026
Jenner was every inch the supportive girlfriend, sitting by Chalamet's side while stunning in a plunging orange molten sequin gown.
—Christina Perrier, InStyle, 4 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Sit by.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sit%20by. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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