/ sɪt; NAmE / verb
( sit·ting , sat , sat / sæt; NAmE /)
ON CHAIR, etc.
1.
to rest your weight on your bottom with your back vertical, for example on / in a chair :
[ v , usually + adv. / prep. ]
She sat and stared at the letter in front of her.
May I sit here?
Just sit still!
He went and sat beside her.
She was sitting at her desk.
[ v -ing ]
We sat talking for hours.
—see also sit down
2.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to put sb in a sitting position :
He lifted the child and sat her on the wall.
OF THINGS
3.
to be in a particular place :
[ v + adv. / prep. ]
A large bus was sitting outside.
The pot was sitting in a pool of water.
The jacket sat beautifully on her shoulders (= fitted well) .
[ v - adj ]
The box sat unopened on the shelf.
HAVE OFFICIAL POSITION
4.
[ v ] sit in / on / for sth | sit as sth to have an official position as sth or as a member of sth :
He was sitting as a temporary judge.
She sat on a number of committees.
For years he sat for Henley (= was the MP for that constituency ) .
They both sat as MPs in the House of Commons.
OF PARLIAMENT, etc.
5.
[ v ] ( of a parliament, committee, court of law, etc. ) to meet in order to do official business :
Parliament sits for less than six months of the year.
EXAM
6.
sit (for) sth ( BrE , rather formal ) to do an exam :
[ vn ]
Candidates will sit the examinations in June.
Most of the students sit at least 5 GCSEs.
[ v ]
He was about to sit for his entrance exam.
OF BIRD
7.
[ v , usually + adv. / prep. ] to rest on a branch, etc. or to stay on a nest to keep the eggs warm
OF DOG
8.
[ v ] to sit on its bottom with its front legs straight :
Rover! Sit!
TAKE CARE OF CHILDREN
9.
[ v ] sit (for sb) = babysit :
Who's sitting for you?
—see also house-sit
•
IDIOMS
- be sitting pretty
- sit at sb's feet
- sit comfortably / easily / well, etc. (with sth)
- sit in judgement (on / over / upon sb)
- sit on the fence
- sit tight
—more at bolt adverb , laurel , silently
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- sit about / around
- sit back
- sit by
- sit down | sit yourself down
- sit down and do sth
- sit for sb/sth
- sit in for sb
- sit in on sth
- sit on sth
- sit sth out
- sit through sth
- sit up
- sit up (and do sth)
- sit sb up
••
SYNONYMS
sit
sit down ♦ be seated ♦ take a seat ♦ perch
These words all mean to rest your weight on your bottom with your back upright, for example on a chair.
sit
to rest your weight on your bottom with your back upright, for example on a chair:
May I sit here?
•
Sit still, will you!
NOTE
Sit is usually used with an adverb or prepositional phrase to show where or how sb sits, but sometimes another phrase or clause is used to show what sb does while they are sitting:
We sat talking for hours.
You sit on a chair with a straight back and no arms and you also sit on a sofa; you sit in an armchair.
sit down/ sit yourself down
to move from a standing position to a sitting position:
Please sit down.
•
Come in and sit yourselves down.
be seated
( formal ) to be sitting:
She was seated at the head of the table.
NOTE
Be seated is often used as a formal way of inviting sb to sit down:
Please be seated.
take a seat
to sit down
NOTE
Take a seat is used especially as a polite way of inviting sb to sit down:
Please take a seat.
perch
( rather informal ) to sit on sth, especially on the edge of sth:
She perched herself on the edge of the bed.
NOTE
Perch is always used with an adverb or prepositional phrase to show where sb is perching.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to sit / sit down / be seated / take a seat / perch on sth
to sit / sit down / be seated / take a seat in sth
to sit / sit down / be seated / take a seat / perch beside / opposite / next to sb/sth
to sit yourself down somewhere
to ask sb to sit / sit down / be seated / take a seat
••
GRAMMAR
sit
You can use on , in and at with sit . You sit on a chair, a step, the edge of the table, etc. You sit in an armchair. If you are sitting at a table, desk, etc. you are sitting in a chair close to it, usually so that you can eat a meal, do some work, etc.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English sittan , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zitten , German sitzen , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin sedere and Greek hezesthai .