Meaning & use
abide
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
Accepts or tolerates something, especially when it is unpleasant or annoying.
Grammar: Usually in negatives or questions: can't abide noise; it takes an object rather than by.
Patterns
- abide something
- can't abide doing something
- can't abide the idea of something
I can't abide dishonesty.
She couldn't abide waiting in long lines.
He can't abide the thought of giving up.
verbphrasal verbformal
Complies with a rule, decision, agreement, or promise.
Grammar: Always used with by: abide by the law; without by it usually means tolerate.
Patterns
- abide by something
- abide by the rules
- abide by a decision
Everyone must abide by the rules.
The company agreed to abide by the court's decision.
Players are expected to abide by their contracts.
verbintransitiveliteraryarchaic
Remains or continues in a place or state.
Grammar: No object; common in older or literary English, not ordinary modern conversation.
Patterns
- abide in a place
- abide here
- abide with someone
They abode in the valley through the winter.
Here we abide, patient and watchful.
Word forms
| third-person singular | abides |
|---|---|
| past tense | abided |
| past participle | abided |
| -ing form | abiding |
| archaic past | abode |
Common combinations
- can't abide
- I can't abide rude interruptions.
- abide by the law
- Citizens are expected to abide by the law.
- abide by a decision
- We will abide by the committee's decision.
- abide by the terms
- Both sides promised to abide by the terms.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tolerate
- Means to accept something unpleasant; abide is stronger and more formal, often negative.
- comply with
- Used for rules or decisions, like abide by, but without the tolerate sense.
- observe
- Formal choice for obeying rules, laws, or customs.
- remain
- Matches the literary sense of staying or continuing somewhere.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: abide or abode?
abide vs abode
Abode is an old past form of abide and also a literary noun meaning home; modern past tense is usually abided.
Practice
Complete the sentence: All drivers must ___ the traffic laws.
Choose one answer.
For compliance, abide takes by: abide by the laws. 'Abide to' is a common learner error; 'abide with' belongs to the old sense of staying with someone.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “abide”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.