sit on
Britishverb
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to be a member of (a committee, etc)
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informal to suppress
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informal to check or rebuke
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Also, sit upon.
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Confer about or deliberate over, as in Another attorney was called to sit on the case . [Mid-1400s]
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Suppress or repress, as in I know they were sitting on some evidence . [Early 1900s]
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Postpone action or resolution regarding, as in I don't know why the city council is sitting on their decision . [Early 1900s]
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Rebuke sharply, reprimand, as in If he interrupts one more time I'm going to sit on him . [ Slang ; second half of 1800s]
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.
CAR T-cell therapy can recognize proteins that naturally sit on the outside of cancer cells.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
But governments should not sit on their hands when it comes to regulating AI, he added, urging an "agile" approach as AI development accelerates.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
All of the dwellings along the beachfront stretch sit on land that slopes toward the ocean, providing jaw-dropping views over the water.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
“It’s fast to set it up and we have it at the cabin,” said Jamie Daroff, whose family owns one of the homes that sit on federal land.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
I sit on a nearby stump to wait.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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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.