sit out


verb(adverb)
  1. (tr) to endure to the end: I sat out the play although it was terrible

  2. (tr) to remain seated throughout (a dance, etc)

  1. (intr) mainly British to lean backwards over the side of a light sailing boat in order to carry the centre of gravity as far to windward as possible to reduce heeling: US and Canadian term: hike out

Words Nearby sit out

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use sit out in a sentence

  • "Perhaps you will not care to retire, and would rather sit out where the air is best," she suggested.

    The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux
  • When they reached home, George said to Ellen: "Don't you want to sit out here on the porch a little while?"

    The Rosie World | Parker Fillmore
  • The girl had promised to sit out two consecutive dances with him, since to-morrow morning he must go back to the mountains.

    The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville Buck
  • Forbes intended to sit out the next dance; but he found himself abandoned as on a desert island with Mrs. Neff.

    What Will People Say? | Rupert Hughes
  • Engaged people invariably pass the evening together, and sometimes do not dance at all, but sit out in some secluded corner.

Other Idioms and Phrases with sit out

sit out

Also, sit through. Stay until the end of, as in We decided to sit out the lecture instead of leaving early, or He was only eight when he sat through an entire opera—and it lasted nearly five hours. [Early 1700s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.