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stand by

(DO NOTHING) phrasal verb with stand
 
 
/stænd/ verb (stood, stood)

Definition

to allow something unpleasant to happen without doing anything to stop it: We can't stand by while millions of people starve. → See also bystanderAvoiding actionLaziness and lazy people
(Definition of stand by (DO NOTHING) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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