to raise (oneself or another) from a recumbent to an upright or alert sitting posture
(intr) to remain out of bed and awake, esp until a late hour
informal (intr) to become suddenly interested or alert
devaluation of the dollar made the money market sit up
Rise to a sitting position from lying down, as in The sick child sat up and asked for a drink of water . [Early 1200s]
Stay up later than usual, as in The nurse sat up with her all night long . [Mid-1500s]
Sit with the spine erect, as in She was always telling the students to sit up . [Early 1700s]
Become suddenly alert, as in The students sat up when he brought up the test . The same sense appears in the related sit up and take notice , as in When he mentioned the arrival of a movie star, they all sat up and took notice . [Late 1800s]
First recorded in 1835–45; noun use of verb phrase sit up
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The test: Technically a curl-up, this exercise is a partial sit-up, done with your back in a C-shape and your arms crossed over your chest.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2024
"A few things over the past few days have made people sit-up, realise the difficulties facing Rusal," an aluminium industry source said.
From Reuters ● Oct. 18, 2022
“We take a breath, and then when we do the sit-up, we exhale, and that relieves some of the pressure.”
From Scientific American ● Sep. 22, 2022
“Ow, that 50th sit-up – man, will I be paying ab-tax tomorrow!”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 28, 2022
“What’s going on with you and Tyler?” she blurts out at sit-up twenty-two.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
She says she was able to sit up despite being covered by around six meters of rubble.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Often, they come across as commands by an orchestra to sit up straight and pay attention.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
But even though “Reminders of Him” isn’t a great film, it’s a door-opener, a movie that will make both studio heads and screenwriters sit up and listen.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026
“The mere suggestion that the key interest rate could rise again is obviously making some market participants sit up and take notice,” Commerzbank’s Antje Praefcke said in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
Bobby paid no attention to the stunning scenery or to Evans’s equally stunning wife, who sat in the backseat to allow the boy to sit up front.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Now I do 200 sit-ups, 120 push-ups and then these leg lifts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
From doing 300 sit-ups a day to eating 6,000 calories, BBC Sport takes a look at Aspinall's intense training camp.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2025
The test requires just 15 push-ups, 32 sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run completed in under 14 minutes.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2025
“Sometimes I think if I did more sit-ups and went to the tanning salon, I could have a lot more power than I do now,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2025
"I am too far ahead of my time. Start with sit-ups, Alfred. Make your stomach like a rock."
From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte
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.
