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
-
sit out
-
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.
-
-
sit in on to be a spectator, observer, or visitor at.
to sit in on classes.
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sit on / upon
-
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
-
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.
-
-
sit down
-
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
-
(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
-
(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:
According to the paper's first author, Caleb Strom, a recent graduate of the University of North Dakota, ancient features such as impact craters sit alongside much younger terrain.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
"We've got to respect each other's opinions and each other's views and really sit down and take the time, because it deserves the time to talk about," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
The Torcal will sit at the more affordable end of Bentley’s product portfolio, similar to the Bentayga, a larger SUV named after another Spanish mountain range that comes in combustion-engine and hybrid variants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Then I added the tomatoes directly to the custard because I wanted the bread to soak up their sweet-savory juices rather than simply sit alongside them.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
“Hello, it’s nice to meet you. Please sit down.”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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
After remaining missing for several weeks, Mr Revanna had released a video on 27 May in which he said that he would appear before the SIT on Friday.
From BBC ● May 31, 2024
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
"I kind of sat back a lot with that because I just thought it wouldn't be helpful for me to be asking loads of questions."
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Those projects haven’t sat well with residents in the community.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Fine, silty material appeared at the bottom, while coarse, sandy sediment sat on top.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
Muse has climbed the charts — as of Monday, it sat in the No. 1 slot for free apps in Apple’s App Store, beating out OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
He turned around, showed his back to the knight, and sat down again in his cage.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
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
The travelling India press pack is large and unrelenting and Gill struggled to sate them.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
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
You, all of you, have sitten still a good While.
From Colloquies of Erasmus, Volume I. by Desiderius Erasmus
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
"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
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
Ye hae sitten your time, as mony a gude hen has done.
From The Proverbs of Scotland by Alexander Hislop
Social media videos show Bieber, 32, sitting on the grass, playing percussion and singing as people gather around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
"There are more fossils than you think sitting in collections, hiding secrets from millions of years ago," Mitchell said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
"He was wonderful. I loved him deeply, and I think I still kind of do a bit," says Overton, sitting on a sofa at her home in Derby.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
“I live with many regrets and sincerely apologize to anyone I may have hurt through my actions,” said the onetime mogul, pale and sitting in a wheelchair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
You approach, stepping around people your age spread out on blankets or sitting on the grass.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
