watch the world go by

verb

To pause and remain still whilst doing nothing but surveying the environment around oneself.

“I think I'll just sit under this tree and watch the world go by.”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbwatch the world go by (third-person singular simple present watches the world go by, present participle watching the world go by, simple past and past participle watched the world go by)

present singular third person watches the world go by · participle present watching the world go by · participle past watched the world go by · past watched the world go by

  1. UKidiomaticTo pause and remain still whilst doing nothing but surveying the environment around oneself.

    I think I'll just sit under this tree and watch the world go by.

    1 more example

    Watching the world go by is so much fun that I have to tear myself away to catch my next service - LNER's 'Highland Chieftain' worked by a bi-mode Class 800 Azuma, [...].

    2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 75
Cite this entry
APA

watch the world go by. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/watch%20the%20world%20go%20by

MLA

“watch the world go by.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/watch%20the%20world%20go%20by. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “watch the world go by,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/watch%20the%20world%20go%20by.

Source: watch the world go by on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.