stand aside

English

Verb

stand aside (third-person singular simple present stands aside, present participle standing aside, simple past and past participle stood aside)

1. To step sideways to make a space for someone else.

   Stand aside, please, so the doctor can get through.

2. To resign a job or position voluntarily so that someone else can have it instead.

   Synonym: stand down

   It's time he stood aside and let a more qualified person do the job.

   • 2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian‎^[1]:

     For months, Dati warned she would refuse to stand aside. Now she has stunned the political class with an open letter to Fillon in Le Monde, a scathing character assassination accusing him of the "lone ambition" of a disillusioned political elite, of doing politics in a way that "never favoured women" and stopping ethnic-minority candidates from progressing at elections. She said he was committing "a sad mistake" in trying to run in Paris.

3. To temporarily recuse oneself from action or decision-making in some domain.

   Synonym: stand down

   The minister will stand aside during the investigation.

See also

• let nature take its course