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Glite Dictionary
to sit by

to sit by

12 5.6
Do nothing while something bad or important happens
  • phrasal verb
  • /sɪt baɪ/
translation icon : quedarse al margen
  • However, our church may remain divided if we sit by and don't do our part.
  • just sit by
  • sit by and let
  • sit by and watch

This is your chance to say I won't sit by while a computer suffers.

Examples

  • I'm not gonna sit by and watch him shoot a dog.

    Their Finest (2017)

  • I could not idly sit by and consume eggs from creatures who were treated so horrifically.

    Blog text (31)

  • So they wait and sit by and watch the crime happen.

    Extreme Justice (1993)

  • There is no country that would sit by and allow violent thugs to take over.

    Blog text (7)

  • The Black community did not sit by and allow King to return quietly to business as usual at Wayland.

    Academic text (2008)

  • This is your chance to say I won't sit by while a computer suffers.

    Linus Tech Tips

  • I cannot just sit by and let the injustice continue without taking action.

  • Watching the news about the disaster, I realized I couldn't sit by and do nothing.

  • She refused to sit by while her friends faced such difficult challenges.

Synonyms

to do nothing
vsto sit by
888 1.5

Spend time without any activity

is specifically about staying indifferent during important or bad events
to sit back
vsto sit by
  • Informal
103 3.5

To do nothing when you should help

is about staying indifferent while something important or bad happens
to stand by
vsto sit by
90 4.2

Watch without helping when someone is in danger

is about remaining indifferent while events occur rather than only failing to act
to sit on your hands
vsto sit by
  • Informal
12 8.1

Not do anything when action is needed

is more general indifference rather than clear refusal when needed

Antonyms

to intervene
197 5.0

To become involved in a situation to change or stop what is happening

to take action
161 2.8

To do something to solve a problem or make a change

How Involved

to intervene
197 5.0
to step in
240 3.2
to look on
50 3.4
to stand back
159 1.6
to sit by
12 5.6

Surface Forms

sit by infinitive
sitting by present participle
sits by third person singular
sat by past
sat by past participle

Morphology

sit + by

The meaning 'to remain inactive or indifferent while something happens' is partly derivable from the literal components: 'sit' (to be seated/remain) + 'by' (near or beside) gives the idea of remaining next to an event rather than intervening. However, the pragmatic extension to passive non‑intervention is not fully predictable from the words alone and relies on conventionalized usage, so a B1 learner would likely need some exposure to be certain.

Etymology

The phrasal verb sit by comes from the image of a person who literally sits and stays by a problem, watching but not acting. So, sit by means 'to remain inactive while something happens'.