To abide means to accept or follow something, especially a rule or decision, even when you'd prefer not to. When you abide by the rules of a game, you follow them whether you're winning or losing. When a student agrees to abide by a teacher's decision about seating arrangements, they accept it without arguing or trying to change it.

The word carries a sense of patience and restraint. You might not like your bedtime, but you abide by it because that's the household rule. A soccer player might disagree with a referee's call but still abide by it because that's how the game works. In this way, to abide means choosing to respect rules or decisions even when they feel inconvenient.

The word can also mean to tolerate or put up with something. If you say you can't abide loud chewing, you mean you find it so annoying you can hardly stand it. This usage is often negative: “I won't abide rudeness in my classroom” means the teacher refuses to tolerate it.

Less commonly, abide can mean to remain or stay somewhere, though you'll rarely hear it used this way in modern conversation. The phrase abide with someone means to stay in their company.