abiding
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of abiding
Explanation
Something abiding sticks around, lasting a long time. Abiding is usually used with feelings and memories — as in your abiding love for Elmo. Abiding comes from the Old English abidan, gebidan meaning "remain, wait, delay, remain behind." It's a word that's typically used to describe a feeling or memory that remains behind or lingers in your mind a while. You can have an abiding faith in God, or an abiding respect for war veterans or an abiding passion. "Law-abiding citizens" are those people who stick strictly to the law. They always use the crosswalk and pay their taxes on time.
Vocabulary lists containing abiding
The Things They Carried
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Black Boy
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Twelve Years a Slave
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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.
Abiding by the sartorial pecking order has become more complicated as the financial industry’s dress code has gotten even more casual since the pandemic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026
“Ultimately, this is an issue of morality. Abiding by our word is the only thing we have; therefore, as the bill currently stands, I voted against the rule.”
From Salon • Jul. 3, 2025
Abiding by the regulations became more difficult over time.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2023
Abiding by the rules, it tried with a small wood-plank fence to shield much of it from the street.
From Washington Post • Oct. 21, 2021
Their doom will not be lightened, neither will they be reprieved; S: Abiding in it; their chastisement shall not be lightened nor shall they be respited.
From Three Translations of The Koran (Al-Qur'an) side by side by Ali, Abdullah Yusuf
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.
