abide by

Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

Antonelli drew a contrast between a pre-race conversation about the rules they had to abide by while racing with each other and what happened on track.

From BBC • May 23, 2026

Renner added that “any employee who does not abide by our code of conduct, or who is found to be participating in unethical or illegal activity, can no longer be employed by our statewide organization.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

Political scandals have always boiled down to whether the party in question has failed to live up to a standard that its constituents expect their representatives to abide by.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

In a press conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun also urged diplomacy and called on the United States and Iran to abide by their ceasefire, after the failure of weekend peace talks in Pakistan.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

“You are all kindness, madam; but I believe we must abide by our original plan.”

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen