abide
Americanverb (used without object)
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abides,
present (3rd person singular)
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abode,
past participle, past
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abided,
past participle, past
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abiding
present participle
verb (used with object)
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abides,
present (3rd person singular)
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abode,
past participle, past
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abided,
past participle, past
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abiding
present participle
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to put up with; tolerate; stand.
I can't abide dishonesty!
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to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding or submitting.
to abide a vigorous onslaught.
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to wait for; await.
to abide the coming of the Lord.
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to accept without opposition or question.
to abide the verdict of the judges.
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to pay the price or penalty of; suffer for.
verb phrase
verb
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(tr) to tolerate; put up with
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(tr) to accept or submit to; suffer
to abide the court's decision
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to comply (with)
to abide by the decision
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to remain faithful (to)
to abide by your promise
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(intr) to remain or continue
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archaic (intr) to dwell
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archaic (tr) to await in expectation
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archaic (tr) to withstand or sustain; endure
to abide the onslaught
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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abidesimple
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abidessimple
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have abidedperfect
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have abodeperfect
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has abidedperfect
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has abodeperfect
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am abidingprogressive
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are abidingprogressive
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is abidingprogressive
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have been abidingperfect progressive
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has been abidingperfect progressive
Past
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abidedsimple
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abodesimple
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had abidedperfect
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had abodeperfect
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was abidingprogressive
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were abidingprogressive
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had been abidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abide
First recorded before 1000; Middle English abiden, Old English ābīdan; cognate with Old High German irbītan “to await,” Gothic usbeisns “expectation, patience”; equivalent to a- 3 + bide
Explanation
Abide means "to be able to live with or put up with." If you can't abide with something, it means you can't stand it. If you can abide it, it means you can live with it. An old definition of abide is "to live" — think of abode, as in "dwelling." If you abide by the rules, it means you live with them, and you will follow them. If you can't abide your sister's shrill violin playing, it means you can't live with it, you can't be in the house when she's practicing. You abide something you don't like, like your teacher's long stories about math. It's not a pleasant experience, but what choice do you have?
Vocabulary lists containing abide
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 7–11
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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Antigone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Candidates would have to abide by certain expenditure limits and follow strict criteria.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
A UK government spokesperson said: "We expect all foreign diplomats in the UK to abide by our laws, in the same way we expect all UK diplomats to do so when posted overseas."
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Siegmund insists that he won’t target German citizens or anyone residing in Germany legally and that his government would abide by all constitutional requirements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The long answer is that you must abide by the “deemed-filing rule.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Okay, to be honest, I can abide by the limitation of obviousness, but the “feels” part was a done deal as far as the Wild Boy of Bainbridge Island was concerned.
From "Winger" by Andrew Smith
Nobody’s perfect, and the longer a piece of art abides, the more likely it is that it’ll start to suck.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2026
A federal monitor will be installed to ensure Live Nation abides by these terms over the next eight years.
From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2026
A Trump Organization spokesperson said the company “takes its ethical obligations extremely seriously and is deeply committed to preventing conflicts of interest,” and abides by all applicable laws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
Burning Man abides by 10 principles, one being decommodification.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
Does it despise us scythes, but abides us because it has to?
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
"For years, Europeans aided and abided flagrant ethical flaws in the international football federation," said Bruen, head of the Global Situation Room strategic communications firm.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
It requires those submitting trophy kills to sign an affidavit swearing they have abided by club technology and other restrictions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
In response, the military said it was surprised by the accusation it was behind the attack, adding that it abided by "international norms and laws".
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026
The former Spanish colony was annexed by the U.S. in 1898 and has abided by the U.S.
From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2025
When I was first banned I abided by the rules and regulations of my persecutors.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
The listing noted that the existing property was expanded by DeMille in 1920, when he acquired a neighboring abode that was once home to Charlie Chaplin.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
However, they announced their move back to the mainland in August 2024, one month after purchasing a six-bedroom abode in Encino, Calif., for $6.8 million.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Kris, who is now in a relationship with talent manager Corey Gamble, has also expanded her property portfolio and no longer uses the enormous abode as her primary residence.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Noth, 71, who famously starred as Mr. Big in the hit HBO series, is bidding farewell to the one-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom abode more than three decades after purchasing it in 1994.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Ishtar's abode made the White House look like a tin shack.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
That title is something of a metaphor, about connecting to a deep, abiding spirituality accessible to us all.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026
Regardless of what station they work for, reporters and pilots are constantly helping each other, abiding by unspoken rules to keep each other safe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
"They are abiding by knocking down the number of logo'd items but there are lots of ways that the schools can get around it."
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
He is a filmmaker with an abiding humanism, evidently flummoxed in the face of the nonhuman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
They were abiding by the rules of war.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
