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• sit
  sit

  verb (used without object)

  to rest with the body supported by the buttocks or thighs; be seated.
• SIT
  SIT

  abbreviation

  stay in touch

sit

¹ American  

[sit] / sɪt /

verb (used without object)

sat, sate, sat, sitten, sitting

1. to rest with the body supported by the buttocks or thighs; be seated.

2. to be located or situated.

   The house sits well up on the slope.

3. to rest or lie (usually followed by on orupon ).

   An aura of greatness sits easily upon him.

4. to place oneself in position for an artist, photographer, etc.; pose.

   to sit for a portrait.

5. to remain quiet or inactive.

   They let the matter sit.

6. (of a bird) to perch or roost.

7. (of a hen) to cover eggs to hatch them; brood.

8. to fit, rest, or hang, as a garment.

   The jacket sits well on your shoulders.

9. to occupy a place or have a seat in an official assembly or in an official capacity, as a legislator, judge, or bishop.

10. to be convened or in session, as an assembly.

    Synonyms:

    gather, convene, assemble, meet

11. to act as a baby-sitter.

12. (of wind) to blow from the indicated direction.

    The wind sits in the west tonight.

13. to be accepted or considered in the way indicated.

    Something about his looks just didn't sit right with me.

14. Informal. to be acceptable to the stomach.

    Something I ate for breakfast didn't sit too well.

15. Chiefly British. to take a test or examination.

    I’m studying now, and I plan to sit in June.

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verb (used with object)

sat, sate, sat, sitten, sitting

1. to cause to sit; seat (often followed bydown ).

   Sit yourself down. He sat me near him.

2. to sit astride or keep one's seat on (a horse or other animal).

   She sits her horse gracefully.

3. to provide seating accommodations or seating room for; seat.

   Our dining-room table only sits six people.

4. Informal. to serve as baby-sitter for.

   A neighbor can sit the children while you go out.

5. Chiefly British. to take (a test or examination).

   She finally received permission to sit the exam at a later date.

verb phrase

1. sit out

   1. to stay to the end of.

      Though bored, we sat out the play.

   2. to surpass in endurance.

      He sat out his tormentors.

   3. to keep one's seat during (a dance, competition, etc.); fail to participate in.

      We sat out all the Latin-American numbers.

2. sit in on to be a spectator, observer, or visitor at.

   to sit in on classes.

3. sit on / upon

   1. to inquire into or deliberate over.

      A coroner's jury was called to sit on the case.

   2. Informal. to suppress; silence.

      They sat on the bad news as long as they could.

   3. Informal. to check or rebuke; squelch.

      I'll sit on him if he tries to interrupt me.

4. sit in

   1. 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.

   2. to take part in a sit-in.

5. sit up

   1. to rise from a supine to a sitting position.

   2. to delay the hour of retiring beyond the usual time.

   3. to sit upright; hold oneself erect.

   4. Informal. to become interested or astonished.

      We all sat up when the holiday was announced.

6. sit down

   1. to take a seat.

   2. to descend to a sitting position; alight.

   3. to take up a position, as to encamp or besiege.

      The military forces sat down at the approaches to the city.

idioms

1. sit tight, to bide one's time; take no action.

   I'm going to sit tight till I hear from you.

2. sit on one's hands,

   1. to fail to applaud.

   2. to fail to take appropriate action.

3. 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

1. (in prescriptions) may it be.

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sit ¹ British  

/ sɪt /

verb

1. (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

2. (tr) to cause to adopt such a posture

3. (of an animal) to adopt or rest in a posture with the hindquarters lowered to the ground

4. (of a bird) to perch or roost

5. (of a hen or other bird) to cover eggs to hatch them; brood

6. to be situated or located

7. (of the wind) to blow from the direction specified

8. to adopt and maintain a posture for one's portrait to be painted, etc

9. to occupy or be entitled to a seat in some official capacity, as a judge, elected representative, etc

10. (of a deliberative body) to be convened or in session

11. to remain inactive or unused

    his car sat in the garage for a year

12. to rest or lie as specified

    the nut was sitting so awkwardly that he couldn't turn it

13. (of a garment) to fit or hang as specified

    that dress sits well on you

14. to weigh, rest, or lie as specified

    greatness sits easily on him

15. (tr) to take (an examination)

    he's sitting his bar finals

16. (usually foll by for) to be a candidate (for a qualification)

    he's sitting for a BA

17. (intr; in combination) to look after a specified person or thing for someone else

    granny-sit

18. (tr) to have seating capacity for

19. informal well placed or established financially, socially, etc

20. 1. to wait patiently; bide one's time

    2. to maintain one's position, stand, or opinion firmly

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SIT ² British  

abbreviation

1. stay in touch

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sit More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing sit

• at a sitting

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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

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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

See Examples For:

sit SIT sat sate sitten sitting

England sit second behind Spain in group A3 of the Nations League with three wins and a loss.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

And as I sit and listen to her, I realize something.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

So even some people who can afford to sit front-row can’t get access to tickets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Consensus expectations already sit at 1.72 billion euros.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

I sit in the chair, take Grace in hand, and play.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

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

In-depth studies on low-volume SIT have the potential to improve training programs and exercise regimens.

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

Ms. Reyes also pointed out that the SIT Act could help employees stay more durable, allowing them to work stably for longer.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 20, 2022

“Alex Douglas, turn around and SIT DOWN,” she repeated.

From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers

I sat there, sketching grids on a legal pad, trying to figure out how this new type of publication would work.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026

I sat with her during her final two weeks, and I don’t think he’s forgotten that.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

But now I feel like I’m trying to make this show as a thank you letter to Heidi and Stew,” Levingston said, as he sat in the house seats at the Playhouse during rehearsal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

When Murstein sat courtside, he recalled being crowded among a revolving-door of superstars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

I sat for a while after he hung up on me, mourning the Dad I never had, as if the loss was new, rather than forever, before my grief turned into white-hot fury.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

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

It seems likely that Sir Keir's rhetoric in PMQs will sate some Labour MPs for now.

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026

The startup says its discoveries can help sate the U.S.’s thirst for power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 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

"Oft have I by thy cradle sitten, And fondly seen thee sleip;150 Bot now I gae about thy grave, The saut tears for to weip."

From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II (of 8) by Various

And at o syde of the emperours table, sitten many philosofres, that ben preved for wise men, in many dyverse scyences; as of astronomye, nigromancye, geomancye, pyromancye, ydromancye, of augurye and of many other scyences.

From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 08 Asia, Part I by Richard Hakluyt

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

Bot, fader, now ye sitten hier 130 In loves stede, I yow beseche, That som ensample ye me teche, Wherof I mai miself appese.

From Confessio Amantis, or, Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins by G. C. (George Campbell) Macaulay

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’m sitting here drinking Viennese coffee, eating pastries and looking out of the window,” he would say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

We started going there because at Brent’s, if you don’t go early, you’re going to be sitting there for 30, 40 minutes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

"In both Beijing and Shanghai, weekly roadshows are still taking place, and every single one is packed to the rafters, with people even sitting in the aisles," he said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

Between Brand and the judge, sat two sets of lawyers with the jury sitting immediately to the right of the judge.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

We saw him sitting up there on Marlene, and juggling away.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

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Related Words

• assemble
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