abide by

Idioms and Phrases

Accept and act in accordance with a decision or set of rules; also, remain faithful to. For example, All members must agree to abide by the club regulations , or A trustworthy man abides by his word . An older sense of the verb abide , “remain,” is still familiar in the well-known 19th-century hymn “Abide with Me,” which asks God to stay with the singer in time of trouble. [Early 1500s]