INDEX:
1. to be sitting in a chair, on the floor etc
2. to sit after you have been standing
3. to sit with your legs in a particular position
4. a place where you can sit
5. what you say to tell someone to sit
6. something that is done while sitting
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ STAND
↑ LIE
↑ BEND (2)
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1. to be sitting in a chair, on the floor etc
▷ sit /sɪt/ [intransitive verb]
to be in a chair, on the floor etc, with the weight of your body resting on your bottom, not on your feet :
▪ Is it okay if I sit here?
▪ Do you want to sit next to Brian?
▪ Let’s go sit outside.
▪ A woman in a huge hat came and sat right in front of us.
▪ Billy sat on the edge of the desk, swinging his legs.
▪ I saw a man with grey hair sitting in the car next to Jean.
▪ Come and sit on Mommy’s knee.
sit at a desk/table/bar/fire etc
▪ A grey-haired woman was sitting at the reception desk.
sit around a desk/table etc
▪ We all used to sit around the kitchen table, smoking and chatting.
sit still
sit quietly without moving
▪ I wish you children would sit still for 10 minutes.
▷ sit up /ˌsɪt ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to move your body so that you are sitting, after you have been lying down, or to sit so that your back is straight :
▪ When I got home, Nigel was sitting up in bed.
▪ Sit up like a big girl, and eat your dinner.
sit up straight
sit with your back very straight
▪ Cadets here are taught to always dress neatly and to sit up straight.
▷ sit back /ˌsɪt ˈbæk/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to lean your back against the back of the chair, after you have been sitting straight, especially because this is more comfortable :
▪ Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music.
▪ Mel sat back on the couch and admired the view of the city.
▷ be seated /biː ˈsiːtə̇d/ [verb phrase] formal
to be sitting in a particular chair or place, especially because someone has asked or arranged for you to sit there :
▪ The meal cannot start until everyone is seated.
▪ John was seated on my left.
▪ Helen was more than pleased to be seated beside Chris. She’d always wanted to meet him.
▷ lounge /laʊndʒ/ [intransitive verb]
to sit so that you are very comfortable and relaxed, sometimes almost lying down :
lounge on
▪ I dried off, then lounged on a hammock at the poolside.
lounge in
▪ Are you the sort of person who likes to lounge in bed at the weekend?
▷ slump /be slumped /slʌmp, biː ˈslʌmpt/ [intransitive verb]
to be sitting with the top of your body leaning forwards or sideways and down, as if you are very tired or as if you are unconscious :
slump forward/in/against etc
▪ He slumped further forward, his lips parted and his eyes closed.
▪ She slumped back in her seat.
be slumped in/on/under etc
▪ Brad was slumped in front of the television watching the game.
▪ Theresa found him slumped over the keyboard.
sit slumped
▪ A young man sat slumped behind the hotel desk, showing little interest in the new arrivals.
▷ slouch/be slouched /slaʊtʃ, biː ˈslaʊtʃt/ [intransitive verb/verb phrase]
to sit in a tired or lazy way, often with your head down and your shoulders sloping downwards :
▪ Marie, don’t slouch, sit up straight.
slouch back/against/in etc
▪ Cantor slouched back in his seat and lit a cigarette.
▪ I slouched on a bench and watched the children feed the swans.
be slouched in/over/beside etc
▪ One boy was slouched down in his chair, with a baseball cap almost covering his eyes.
2. to sit after you have been standing
▷ sit down /ˌsɪt ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to sit on a chair, bed, floor etc, after you have been standing :
▪ Come in and sit down.
▪ Oh, it’s nice to sit down after all that waiting.
▪ Fay sat down on the edge of the bed.
▪ Pull up a chair, and sit down right here.
▷ sit /sɪt/ [intransitive verb]
to sit in a particular place or position after you have been standing :
sit beside/against/next to etc
▪ It’s so hot in here. Shall we go and sit by the window?
▪ Come and sit next to me -- I haven’t seen you for ages.
▪ He sat down right beside me.
sit up
sit after lying down
▪ After a few days, he was finally allowed to sit up in bed.
▷ take your seat /ˌteɪk jɔːʳ ˈsiːt/ [verb phrase]
to sit down in your chair in a public place such as a theatre or cinema, so that you can watch a play, film, ceremony etc :
▪ Would the audience please take their seats -- the show will begin in five minutes.
▪ She waved before taking her seat at the back of the church.
▷ sink into /ˈsɪŋk ɪntuː/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to sit in a comfortable chair, by letting yourself fall back into it, especially because you are tired :
▪ It had been an exhausting day. Christina gratefully sank into the armchair and kicked off her shoes.
3. to sit with your legs in a particular position
▷ kneel also kneel down /niːl, niːl ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive verb]
to be or move into a position in which your knees are on the floor and your body is upright :
▪ He told them to kneel, then began to say a prayer.
▪ Grandpa knelt down and lifted the little girl into his arms.
▪ An old woman was kneeling at the altar, her hands clasping a rosary.
▪ You’ll need to bring a small mat to kneel on.
▷ sit cross-legged /sɪt ˌkrɒs ˈlegdǁ-ˌkrɔːs ˈlegə̇d/ [verb phrase]
to sit on the ground or floor with your knees bent and your feet crossed in front of you :
▪ Several children sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her.
▪ They were sitting on the bed cross-legged and giggling.
▷ squat also squat down /skwɒt, ˌskwɒt ˈdaʊnǁskwɑːt/ [intransitive verb usually in progressive]
to put your body into a position in which your feet are flat on the ground, your knees are bent up to your chest, and your bottom is off the ground, or to move into this position :
▪ A little boy was squatting at the edge of the pool.
▪ People squatted around the fire in small groups
▪ He squatted down beside me and offered me a cigarette.
▷ sit astride /ˌsɪt əˈstraɪd/ [verb phrase]
to sit on something or someone, with one leg on each side :
▪ He sat astride a motorcycle.
▪ He pinned her to the ground by her shoulders, sitting astride her so that she couldn’t move.
▷ straddle /ˈstrædl/ [transitive verb]
to sit on someone or something with one leg on each side, especially when you have to stretch a long way to do this :
▪ He sat facing her, straddling the small wooden chair.
▪ I looked up to see her straddling one of the huge branches of the oak tree.
4. a place where you can sit
▷ seat /siːt/ [countable noun]
something you can sit on, especially in a bus, plane, theatre etc :
▪ Our seats were right at the front of the airplane.
▪ He leaned back in his seat and lit a cigarette.
▪ When we arrived, every seat was filled, so we stood at the back.
▪ There was blood and broken glass all over the front seats.
▪ ‘Slow down!’ yelled Ben from the back seat.
▪ comfortable padded theater seats
▷ place /pleɪs/ [countable noun]
a particular seat where you sit for a formal meal or in a public place - use this especially to talk about whether seats are available :
▪ We’d better hurry and get to our places before the show starts.
▪ I don’t think there are enough places for everyone.
take your place
sit in the seat that you are expected to sit in
▪ Jennifer quietly took her place at the table.
5. what you say to tell someone to sit
▷ sit down /ˌsɪt ˈdaʊn/ spoken :
▪ Sit down -- I have some bad news for you.
▪ Sit down and finish your breakfast.
▷ have a seat/take a seat /ˌhæv ə ˈsiːt, ˌteɪk ə ˈsiːt/ [verb phrase] spoken
say this to politely ask someone to sit down, especially someone you do not know well :
▪ Take a seat. Mr Bennet will be available in a moment.
▪ You’d better have a seat, Mr Hanks. This may take some time.
▷ please be seated /ˌpliːz biː ˈsiːtə̇d/ formal
say this to a group of people to ask them politely to sit down, especially at a public occasion or ceremony :
▪ Would the audience please be seated.
▪ Please do be seated. This won’t take a moment.
▷ sit /sɪt/ spoken
say this to a dog when you want it to sit down :
▪ Sit, Bowser, sit! Good dog!
6. something that is done while sitting
▷ sedentary /ˈsed ə nt ə riǁ-teri/ [adjective]
if someone is sedentary or they have a sedentary job, they spend most of their time sitting down :
▪ The exercise program was aimed at men in their fifties and sixties who were previously sedentary.
▪ People with sedentary jobs generally need to eat less than those in very active occupations.
▪ health problems caused by a sedentary lifestyle
▷ sit-down /ˈsɪt daʊn/ [adjective only before noun]
sit-down meal/dinner etc
a meal etc in which everyone in a group, usually a large group, sits at tables :
▪ We usually organize a sit-down dinner, but we wanted to go for something less formal this year.
▪ We offer a cafeteria and a sit-down service at very reasonable rates.