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
“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
Schools are thinking not only about competitors, “but just to get families to sit up and pay attention,” said Brett Schraeder, vice president of financial aid optimization at consultant EAB.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
At 4.75%, that’s also a point where “people really start to sit up and take notice,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Those who would compel people in the room to sit up and hold that panellist's gaze.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
It tried to sit up and move to see where I was, but it couldn’t.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
At that point, I think it was 400 sit-ups and 400 push-ups and 200 leg lifts every morning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
"I can't wait to make him do push-ups and sit-ups and run around."
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 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
For the core, find a patch of grass to do sit-ups.
From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2024
I’d been so into my push-ups and sit-ups and all that I hadn’t even heard her come home.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
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.
