sidelines
Britishplural noun
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sport the area immediately outside the playing area, where substitute players sit
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the peripheral areas of any region, organization, etc
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.
When Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last year in Malaysia on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian nations conference, Rubio said the goal was “strategic stability.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
As a child, Reble often felt she was watching life from the sidelines.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
And as Xi warned that the world's two largest economies could "come into conflict" if Washington mishandles the Taiwan issue, minor skirmishes broke out on the sidelines of their meeting.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
To be sure, China, the primary buyer of Iranian oil, has largely stayed on the sidelines during the Iran war and has avoided applying pressure on Tehran to make concessions to the U.S.
From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026
Because of him, she joined the sports club and watched him play football, sitting by the sidelines and holding his bottle of water.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
