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:
Why would somebody who could play as good as my father sit in a club and play for no one except their son?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
You sit in the bleachers or walk the sidelines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
“But we’re going to sit down, and Abdul’s going to have to demonstrate some serious outreach to Oakland County’s Jewish community.”
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
She said Meta plans to sit down with school superintendents and police chiefs to see what might be financially beneficial to them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
We would sit down at midday with all the other refugees in the great dining hall and eat good hot food.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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
Local media have reported that the SIT held its first meeting on Tuesday, which was focused on assigning roles and responsibilities to its members.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025
In summary, the findings from this study can address important research gaps in SIT, such as the effects of minimum sprint duration and repetitions on aerobic and metabolic responses in humans.
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
Kang sat under a tree, waiting for a friend to arrive, and played with one of many cats roaming around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
“My husband and I went away with our two children and we all sat down and discussed it.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026
On Friday, they sat silently in the dock as the judges returned their verdict.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
“I went just like everyone. At 7 a.m. I showed up, wore my regalia, sat down and just soaked in the sun for a couple hours,” he said of the experience last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
He came and sat down beside Father and me.
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
It’s just enough to sate the palate until next week, when we find ourselves craving a treat once again.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
That led him to the petroleum industry, where working on oil rigs in the punishing North Sea and near conflict zones helped sate his risk appetite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
I always order chicken sate and the green papaya salad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
Dr. Trefusis and I sate awkwardly in silence, the pretense of tuition abandoned; knowing that the coming lesson would be but a simulation of learning; and being unwilling to begin this pretense without an audience.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my seat, even as I overcame and have sitten with my father, in his seat.
From The first New Testament printed in English by
This chief might have sitten for the picture of a patriarch; his fine, serious, expressive countenance, large features, and long bushy beard, afforded a favourable specimen of his tribe.
From Lander's Travels The Travels of Richard Lander into the Interior of Africa by Robert Huish
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
"Of the things which we have spoken, this is the pith: that we have such an high priest that is sitten on the right hand of the seat of majesty in heaven," 1.
From The first New Testament printed in English by
The upper house, inflamed by the ill usage which they had received, were resolved, besides the late king's judges, to except every one who had sitten in any high court of justice.
From The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part F. From Charles II. to James II. by David Hume
For one, this meant dealing with stale HeyDude products sitting in U.S. wholesale channels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
"The community is going to have to support each other - and these are ideal spaces to do that, currently sitting derelict. We need to put them to use," Green said.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Both main crude contracts were down 2.3 percent, with the Brent benchmark sitting at $92 a barrel.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
"I opened the package, and there was a giant, 200-year-old eyeball sitting on dry ice just staring back at me," the 28-year-old says with a laugh.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
We were sitting in Tante Jans’s front room with Kik and some other young men, who had made us a delivery of forged travel-permits too late to get home by curfew.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
