sit
verb (used without object)
to rest with the body supported by the buttocks or thighs; be seated.
sit
1 American
[sit]
/ sɪt /
verb (used without object)
sat,
sate,
sat,
sitten,
sitting
-
to rest with the body supported by the buttocks or thighs; be seated.
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to be located or situated.
The house sits well up on the slope.
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to rest or lie (usually followed by on orupon ).
An aura of greatness sits easily upon him.
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to place oneself in position for an artist, photographer, etc.; pose.
to sit for a portrait.
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to remain quiet or inactive.
They let the matter sit.
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(of a bird) to perch or roost.
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(of a hen) to cover eggs to hatch them; brood.
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to fit, rest, or hang, as a garment.
The jacket sits well on your shoulders.
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to occupy a place or have a seat in an official assembly or in an official capacity, as a legislator, judge, or bishop.
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to be convened or in session, as an assembly.
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to act as a baby-sitter.
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(of wind) to blow from the indicated direction.
The wind sits in the west tonight.
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to be accepted or considered in the way indicated.
Something about his looks just didn't sit right with me.
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Informal. to be acceptable to the stomach.
Something I ate for breakfast didn't sit too well.
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Chiefly British. to take a test or examination.
I’m studying now, and I plan to sit in June.
verb (used with object)
sat,
sate,
sat,
sitten,
sitting
-
to cause to sit; seat (often followed bydown ).
Sit yourself down. He sat me near him.
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to sit astride or keep one's seat on (a horse or other animal).
She sits her horse gracefully.
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to provide seating accommodations or seating room for; seat.
Our dining-room table only sits six people.
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Informal. to serve as baby-sitter for.
A neighbor can sit the children while you go out.
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Chiefly British. to take (a test or examination).
She finally received permission to sit the exam at a later date.
verb phrase
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sit out
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to stay to the end of.
Though bored, we sat out the play.
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to surpass in endurance.
He sat out his tormentors.
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to keep one's seat during (a dance, competition, etc.); fail to participate in.
We sat out all the Latin-American numbers.
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sit in on to be a spectator, observer, or visitor at.
to sit in on classes.
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sit on / upon
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sit in
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to attend or take part as a visitor or temporary participant.
to sit in at a bridge game; to sit in for the band's regular pianist.
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to take part in a sit-in.
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sit up
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to rise from a supine to a sitting position.
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to delay the hour of retiring beyond the usual time.
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to sit upright; hold oneself erect.
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Informal. to become interested or astonished.
We all sat up when the holiday was announced.
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sit down
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to take a seat.
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to descend to a sitting position; alight.
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to take up a position, as to encamp or besiege.
The military forces sat down at the approaches to the city.
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idioms
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sit tight, to bide one's time; take no action.
I'm going to sit tight till I hear from you.
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sit on one's hands,
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to fail to applaud.
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to fail to take appropriate action.
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sit pretty, to be in a comfortable situation.
He's been sitting pretty ever since he got that new job.
sit
2
American
[sit]
/ sɪt /
verb
sit
1
British
/ sɪt /
verb
-
(also tr; when intr, often foll by down, in, or on) to adopt or rest in a posture in which the body is supported on the buttocks and thighs and the torso is more or less upright
to sit on a chair
sit a horse
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(tr) to cause to adopt such a posture
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(of an animal) to adopt or rest in a posture with the hindquarters lowered to the ground
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(of a bird) to perch or roost
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(of a hen or other bird) to cover eggs to hatch them; brood
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to be situated or located
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(of the wind) to blow from the direction specified
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to adopt and maintain a posture for one's portrait to be painted, etc
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to occupy or be entitled to a seat in some official capacity, as a judge, elected representative, etc
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(of a deliberative body) to be convened or in session
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to remain inactive or unused
his car sat in the garage for a year
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to rest or lie as specified
the nut was sitting so awkwardly that he couldn't turn it
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(of a garment) to fit or hang as specified
that dress sits well on you
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to weigh, rest, or lie as specified
greatness sits easily on him
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(tr) to take (an examination)
he's sitting his bar finals
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(usually foll by for) to be a candidate (for a qualification)
he's sitting for a BA
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(intr; in combination) to look after a specified person or thing for someone else
granny-sit
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(tr) to have seating capacity for
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informal well placed or established financially, socially, etc
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to wait patiently; bide one's time
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to maintain one's position, stand, or opinion firmly
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SIT
2
British
abbreviation
sit
More Idioms
Commonly Confused
See set.
Etymology
Origin of sit1
First recorded before 900; Middle English sitten, Old English sittan; cognate with Dutch zitten, German sitzen, Old Norse sitja; akin to Gothic sitan, Latin sedēre, Greek hézesthai (base hed- ); cf. set, sedate, cathedra, nest
Origin of sit2
From Latin
Explanation
Sit down! When you sit, you rest your weight on your bottom instead of standing on your feet. You can sit in a chair, sit on the floor, or sit in a giant bowl of chocolate pudding if you want to. When you tell a good dog to sit, she lowers her hindquarters to the floor, with her back legs bent. But when you sit ten people at your little kitchen table, you provide seats for them, and when you sit for an artist, you pose while she paints or draws your portrait. Objects sit by simply not moving: "The cars sit, stuck in rush hour traffic, while the subway speeds past."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They couldn’t just sit on stuff, because they were part of an active political process.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Four years after he founded Amazon, Bezos and his wife at the time, MacKenzie Scott, paid $10 million for two homes that sit on a 5-acre plot in the town of Hunts Point.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
The three firms together sit on 1.4 million acres of land—more than seven times the size of New York City—and are busy acquiring more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
"We're going to take a couple of camping chairs with us, so Dad can sit if we can get there an hour or so before."
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
She comes to sit on the bed beside me.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
A SIT official who did not want to be named told the BBC on Saturday morning that the man "has been arrested for perjury".
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2025
After remaining missing for several weeks, Mr Revanna had released a video on 27 May in which he said that he would appear before the SIT on Friday.
From BBC ● May 31, 2024
In recent years, the field of sports physiology has witnessed increased interest in optimizing SIT protocols.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024
“Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
“Alex Douglas, turn around and SIT DOWN,” she repeated.
From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers
Their research involved 14 dogs in total who all sat very still in a brain scanner while they were shown pictures of people's faces.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
And that was after the three-time All-Pro got no training-camp reps with Stafford, who sat out because of a back issue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
After Takaichi attended the annual ceremony in Hiroshima on Thursday, she sat down for a televised meeting with survivors.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
Hillsborough sat near the far end of that debris path, where the largest pieces were expected to reach the ground.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
I sat down blinking at knives, forks, tablecloth—had I once eaten like this, every day in the year?
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Investors regard Bloom’s solid oxide fuel cell as a robust source of power to sate data centers’ endless appetite.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
I always order chicken sate and the green papaya salad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
The startup says its discoveries can help sate the U.S.’s thirst for power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
The travelling India press pack is large and unrelenting and Gill struggled to sate them.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
The hunger of a dragon is slow to wake, but hard to sate.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
After the Ambassadour with his gentlemen had sitten an houre and more, there came three or foure chauses, and brought them into the great Turkes presence.
From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 05 Central and Southern Europe by Hakluyt, Richard
Thus came to a period a parliament which had sitten during the whole course of this reign, one year excepted.
From The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part F. From Charles II. to James II. by Hume, David
And so they arose and did their homage, and when they were gone Merlin found in every sieges letters of gold that told the knights' names that had sitten therein.
From Le Mort d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Malory, Thomas, Sir
Then coming to the well, she had no sooner sitten down, but a golden head came up with a singing note, "Wash me, comb me, lay me down softly."
From Amusing Prose Chap Books by Various
They had not sitten but a while, Certain, without leas-ing, There came two messengers out of the north, With letters to our King.
From A Bundle of Ballads by Morley, Henry
The proof is sitting in their order books.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Buford was sitting in front of a massive ficus tree, with roots the size of a five-year-old child coming up out of the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
This means more people are in sedentary office jobs so spend more time sitting down than moving around.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Without Raleigh’s contributions, the team has underperformed, currently sitting under .500 and chasing a playoff spot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
They had all their stuff spread out on the table and looked intense, as if they were in another world while sitting somewhere otherworldly.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
