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:
We sit shiva, a formal seven days of grief in which mourners stay at home, wear torn clothing, cover mirrors, sit on low stools and silently feel their loss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
When you sit down and think about your family’s future, does access to these resources feel important?
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
A quick call is one thing, but “I’m not going to sit there and run a deal,” the auto broker said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Rubber Soul” is the Beatles album that made musos as diverse as Grace Slick and Elvis Costello sit up and take notice — it’s also Harry Styles’ favorite.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Once inside we could stand up, sit, or even stretch out one at a time on the single mattress.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The SIT will also look into complaints "regarding climatic conditions" and allegations of the facility being located near an industrial zone.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025
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
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
Peyton Manning sat in the studio and cued the video.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
He sat in disbelief as the passenger answered it and chatted away for a couple of minutes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
For years, I sat at kitchen tables with couples in their 20s and early 30s who had a car payment, credit-card debt and kids they wanted to send to college one day.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
At the Kfar Aza kibbutz, which was also devastated by the attack, mourners sat in silence in assembled chairs as they watched the raising of an Israeli flag.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
The doctor sat down at her table and scrawled something on a piece of paper.
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
While the network has tried to sate its audience, no “Ultimate Girls Trip” or “Simple Life”-esque spinoff has quite hit the mark like “RHONY” classic could.
From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2025
The day she heard of this determination, my mother walked as if in sleep to the room where Bono and I sate, shining boots.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
After the death of Sethon, who had sitten fourteen years on the throne, Tharaca ascended it, and reigned eighteen years.
From The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Macedonians and Grecians (Vol. 1 of 6) by Charles Rollin
Give, bid, sit, make in the preterit gave, bade, sate; in the participle passive given, bidden, sitten; but in both bid.
From A Grammar of the English Tongue by Samuel Johnson
A resolution was therefore taken to dissolve the parliament, which had sitten during this whole reign; and soon after to summon a new one.
From The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part C. From Henry VII. to Mary by David Hume
It is to unlettered people that we owe the disuse of holpen, bounden, sitten, and the use of the regular participles, swelled, helped, worked, in place of the ancient ones.
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown
I had sitten down by my uncle's fireside, and felt unwilling to rise.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume I Historical, Traditionary, and Imaginative by Various
The bombers cost several hundred million dollars each and until recently, a dozen were sitting in the open at the air base, just northwest of London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Leisa is a phenomenal talent, and casting directors and filmmakers will be sitting up and taking notice. She has warmth and charisma and that magical but unquantifiable essence that confers star status," he added.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
The second floor is home to three more bedrooms and two additional sitting areas, while the remaining bedrooms and a second kitchen are located in the home’s two-level guesthouse.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
“I would have never, never gotten onstage if I would have known that her body was still sitting there with her family surrounding her,” Sheila E. said in video statement after the festival.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
He’s sitting at the small table in the corner of his room, the Scrabble board already set up, waiting for me, his lunch dishes pushed to the side.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
