stand by
— Phrasal Verb with stand /stænd/ verb (past tense and past participle stood)Definition
BE READY › to be ready to do something or to help: Doctors were standing by to treat the injured passengers.
DO NOTHING › to do nothing to prevent something unpleasant from happening: We can't stand by while millions of people starve.
(Definition of stand by from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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