on the sidelines

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Idioms and Phrases

Observing rather than taking part, out of the action, as in Bolivia's neighbors remained on the sidelines, waiting to see which faction in the dispute would prevail . This idiom comes from sports. The sidelines are the two lines defining the sides of the court or playing field and the area immediately beyond them where, in such sports as football, the non-playing team members sit. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

During the tumult, some younger members of the Vietnamese community, already questioning their status on the sidelines of a local political infrastructure that didn’t include them, inserted themselves in the conversation.

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Harris, 60, is not expected to make a decision until the end of the summer — a delay that has prompted criticism from fellow Democrats who argue that politicians can’t sit on the sidelines at a crucial moment in the nation’s and the state’s future.

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It follows a one-on-one meeting between Zelensky and Trump at the Vatican on the sidelines of the Pope's funeral on Saturday.

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Robinson, though, thinks Onana's spell on the sidelines will continue.

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Health and Human Services chief Xavier Becerra, two other top Democrats running for governor, also called out politicians for sitting on the sidelines.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

on the side on the side of the angels

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