ABIDE BY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does abide by mean? 

• ABIDE BY (verb)
  The verb ABIDE BY has 2 senses:

1. act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes

2. show respect towards

  Familiarity information: ABIDE BY used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ABIDE BY (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

abide by; comply; follow

Context example:

abide by the rules

Hypernyms (to "abide by" is one way to...):

obey (be obedient to)

Verb group:

follow; stick to; stick with (keep to)

adopt; espouse; follow (choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "abide by"):

accommodate; oblige (provide a service or favor for someone)

toe the line (do what is expected)

conform to (observe)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Show respect towards

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

abide by; honor; honour; observe; respect

Context example:

honor your parents!

Hypernyms (to "abide by" is one way to...):

accept (consider or hold as true)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "abide by"):

celebrate; lionise; lionize (assign great social importance to)

tolerate (recognize and respect (rights and beliefs of others))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

I would rather abide by my own blunders than by his.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

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

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

For that fate you have already made your choice, and must abide by it.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Considering that you are young, and striving for a place in life, I think it would be well to say that you would readily abide by any conditions they might impose upon you.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“If you had been shut up in abbey or in cell this day you could not have taught a wayward maiden to abide by the truth. Is it not so? What avail is the shepherd if he leaves his sheep.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A federal form that is the statement of the investigator that he will abide by the federal guidelines set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations for the use of drugs in an investigational setting.

(Form FDA 1572, NCI Thesaurus)

Eclipses don’t abide by stagnation, so this is a yes-no, on-off, now-or-never kind of month, especially if you are a Cancer with a birthday that falls on or near July 10—with a tolerance of four days before or after.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

She must abide by the evil of having refused him, whatever it may be; and as to the refusal itself, I will not pretend to say that I might not influence her a little; but I assure you there was very little for me or for any body to do.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

I will abide by your decision.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)