verb

sit

siht

verb

To be resting with your body upright, supported by your bottom, rather than standing or lying down.

"She sat quietly in the corner, reading her book."

"Please sit down and make yourself comfortable."

To lower yourself into a seated position.

"He sat down heavily after the long walk."

To be located or positioned somewhere.

"The old house sits at the top of the hill."

"A vase of flowers sat on the windowsill."

To hold a formal seat or membership on a board, council, or similar body, or (of a court) to be in session.

"She sits on the board of three charities."

"The court will sit again on Monday to continue the trial."

To take or complete an exam.

"Thousands of students will sit their final exams next week."

To babysit or look after someone or something temporarily.

"My neighbour sits for us whenever we go out in the evening."

noun

A single instance or period of sitting.

"I finished the whole novel in one sit."

How to Use Sit

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo be in, or move into, a seated position — or more broadly, to be located, to hold a position, or to take an exam.

Common mistake

Past tense is "sat," not "sitted" — "she sat down" is correct.

Common pairings

sit down sit an exam sit on a committee sit in session

Word Forms

sat past tense, sate past tense, sitten past tense, sit plural, sat plural, sate plural, sits plural, Sits plural, sits singular, sit singular, sat singular, sate singular, sattest singular

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Can you complete this real example?

Please _____ down and make yourself comfortable.

Etymology

From Old English sittan, going back to a very old Indo-European root meaning "to sit" that also gave us words like the Latin sedeo and the Russian sidet.

Synonyms

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be found be situate

Rhymes for sit

visit deposit transit revisit babysit whatsit

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