on the sidelines
sideline
verb[ T ]
us/ˈsɑɪdˌlɑɪn/

sidelineverb[T] (REMOVE PLAYER)

to remove a player from a game:
He was sidelined because of injuries.

sideline | Business English

sideline
noun[ C ]
uk /ˈsaɪdlaɪn/us
a business activity that someone does in addition to their main business:
For many companies, producing own-label goods is not a sideline, it's a strategy for growth.
a sideline in sthThe company has been developing a sideline in closed-circuit television since buying the electronics business last year.
 on the sidelines
not being used or not involved in an activity:
The absence of new products is keeping consumers on the sidelines.
stay/wait/sit on the sidelines
sideline
verb[ T ]
uk /ˈsaɪdlaɪn/us
to force someone or something into a situation in which they have less influence or importance than before:
After I got pregnant, I felt that my bosses were sidelining me.
The oil industry would be very unhappy if this legislation was sidelined.

Examples of sideline

sideline
The physiological context of signaling is mostly sidelined until the last two chapters, which are dedicated to signalling in development.
This advisory capacity on the sidelines is reflected in one of the agency's latest mandates.
In practice, it remained a sideline rather than being integrated into the lessons as a whole.
Is it the contribution of academic allies which is sidelined in inclusive research - or that of co-researchers with learning disabilities?
They remained on the sidelines, though, ready to emerge as soon as things were not going so well.
We cannot be influential if all we do is barrack from the sidelines.
A friend of mine runs a sideline business out of her basement at home.
As a result, carework has largely been discussed in terms that sideline its character as bodywork.
That's why they have gone to such lengths to sideline him into a ghetto of literary experimentation.
They remained on the sidelines of the political system.
The politicians effectively sat on the sidelines in the crucial years hoping to be rescued from their dilemma.
He opted for a sentence containing two dangerous factors: a preposition and a coordination - with a than lurking in the sidelines as well.
It is an organized and persistent second-guessing from the sidelines.
And in this way, he saves himself from being entirely sidelined while avoiding usefulness and, thus, class eradication.
The medical community by and large stayed on the sidelines.
See all examples of sideline
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.