abide
v.v. to accept or follow a rule, decision, or law. It also means to tolerate or put up with someone or something you do not like.
v. to accept or act in accordance with a rule, decision, or recommendation; also used to express a strong dislike or intolerance for something, typically in negative constructions.
You must abide by the rules of the game.
The committee expects all members to abide by the new safety regulations starting next month.
While he could not abide the candidate's personal conduct, he felt a professional obligation to abide by the democratic results of the election.
From Middle English abyden, from Old English ābīdan (“to abide, wait, remain, delay, remain behind; survive; wait for, await; expect”), from Proto-West Germanic uʀbīdan, from Proto-Germanic uzbīdaną (“to expect, tolerate”), equivalent to a- + bide. Cognate with Scots abide (“to abide, remain”), Middle High German erbīten (“to await, expect”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (usbeidan, “to expect, await, have patience”). The sense of pay for is due to influence from aby.
When meaning to follow a rule, it is intransitive and requires the preposition 'by'. When meaning to tolerate, it is transitive and often follows 'cannot' or 'could not'.
They must abide the rules.They must abide by the rules.When used to mean following a law or rule, the verb requires the preposition 'by'.