- stand idly by
- sit idly by & stand idly byto remain close, doing nothing to help. •
I do not intend to stand idly by while my children need my help.
•The wealthy man sat idly by while the poor people starved.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
stand idly by
Look at other dictionaries:
stand idly by — stand/sit/idly by phrase to see something bad happening without trying to prevent it The government was accused of standing idly by while unemployment soared. Thesaurus: to not act, or to not do somethingsynonym Main entry: idly … Useful english dictionary
Stand — (st[a^]nd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stood} (st[oo^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Standing}.] [OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, st[=a]n, D. staan, OS. standan, st[=a]n, OHG. stantan, st[=a]n, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae, Sw. st[*a],… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Stand by — Stand Stand (st[a^]nd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stood} (st[oo^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Standing}.] [OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, st[=a]n, D. staan, OS. standan, st[=a]n, OHG. stantan, st[=a]n, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
stand — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun 1 effort to resist opposition ADJECTIVE ▪ brave, defiant, determined, firm, strong, tough ▪ moral, principled … Collocations dictionary
idly — i|dly [ aıdli ] adverb 1. ) without any real purpose or reason: She sat in the waiting room, flicking idly through a magazine. 2. ) without doing anything: I lay idly on the rocks. stand/sit idly by to see something bad happening without trying… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
idly — UK [ˈaɪdlɪ] / US adverb 1) without any real purpose or reason She sat in the waiting room, flicking idly through a magazine. 2) without doing anything I lay idly on the rocks. • stand/sit idly by to see something bad happening without trying to… … English dictionary
To stand against — Stand Stand (st[a^]nd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stood} (st[oo^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Standing}.] [OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, st[=a]n, D. staan, OS. standan, st[=a]n, OHG. stantan, st[=a]n, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
To stand by — Stand Stand (st[a^]nd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stood} (st[oo^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Standing}.] [OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, st[=a]n, D. staan, OS. standan, st[=a]n, OHG. stantan, st[=a]n, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
To stand corrected — Stand Stand (st[a^]nd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stood} (st[oo^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Standing}.] [OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, st[=a]n, D. staan, OS. standan, st[=a]n, OHG. stantan, st[=a]n, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
To stand fast — Stand Stand (st[a^]nd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stood} (st[oo^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Standing}.] [OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, st[=a]n, D. staan, OS. standan, st[=a]n, OHG. stantan, st[=a]n, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
To stand firmly on — Stand Stand (st[a^]nd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Stood} (st[oo^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Standing}.] [OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, st[=a]n, D. staan, OS. standan, st[=a]n, OHG. stantan, st[=a]n, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
