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

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.

The 82-year-old sat by the pool every morning to read the Los Angeles Times front to back, his daughter said, to listen to jazz on the radio and birds singing in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. —

Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025 There are so many ways to go about this—watch your favorite comfort movies (LOTR binge, anyone?), have a cup of tea every afternoon, sit by a fire, or get into cooking hearty meals like chili or lasagna. —

Julia Ries, SELF, 16 Jan. 2025 Taft-Gersten can conduct Zoom meetings with privacy while sitting by a window in a favorite Marco Zanuso vintage armchair. —

Stacie Stukin, Architectural Digest, 30 Dec. 2024 Fix It: Make sure your peace lily is not sitting by a drafty window or a heating vent. —

Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sit by