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.
However, the investigator added, the company scrubs data to remove personal or business identifiers in case contractors aren’t abiding by its instructions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
That is, living in your home and abiding by your rules, and going to college with your financial help.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
For abiding calm and a belief in the future, there are drop-ins with veteran teacher Titti — the movie’s most endearing figure — who runs an after-school tutoring center for local schoolchildren.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
The commission said the EU is still abiding by the accord and expected the United States to show the same commitment.
From Barron's • Mar. 12, 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.
