English
sit
see also: Sit, SIT
Pronunciation Etymology 1

From Middle English sitten, from Old English sittan, from Proto-West Germanic *sittjan, from Proto-Germanic *sitjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sed-.

Cognate with Western Frisian sitte, Low German sitten, Dutch zitten, German sitzen, Swedish sitta, Norwegian Bokmål sitte, Norwegian Nynorsk sitja; and with Irish suigh, Latin sedeo, Russian сиде́ть.

Verb

sit (sits, present participle sitting; simple past and past participle sat)

  1. (intransitive, copulative, of a person) To be in a position in which the upper body is upright and supported by the buttocks.
    After a long day of walking, it was good just to sit and relax.
  2. (intransitive, of a person) To move oneself into such a position.
    I asked him to sit.
  3. (intransitive, of an object) To occupy a given position.
    The temple has sat atop that hill for centuries.
    Jim's pet parrot sat on his left shoulder.
  4. (intransitive, copulative) To remain in a state of repose; to rest; to abide; to rest in any position or condition.
  5. (government) To be a member of a deliberative body.
    I currently sit on a standards committee.
  6. (legal, government) Of a legislative or, especially, a judicial body such as a court, to be in session.
    In what city is the circuit court sitting for this session.
  7. To lie, rest, or bear; to press or weigh.
  8. To be adjusted; to fit.
    Your new coat sits well.
  9. (intransitive, of an agreement or arrangement) To be accepted or acceptable; to work.
    How will this new contract sit with the workers?
    I don’t think it will sit well.
    The violence in these video games sits awkwardly with their stated aim of educating children.
  10. (transitive, causative) To cause to be seated or in a sitting posture; to furnish a seat to.
    Sit him in front of the TV and he might watch for hours.
  11. (transitive) To accommodate in seats; to seat.
    The dining room table sits eight comfortably.
  12. (US, ambitransitive) To babysit.
    I'm going to sit for them on Thursday.
    I need to find someone to sit my kids on Friday evening for four hours.
  13. (transitive, Australia, New Zealand, UK) To take, to undergo or complete (an examination or test).
  14. To cover and warm eggs for hatching, as a fowl; to brood; to incubate.
  15. To take a position for the purpose of having some artistic representation of oneself made, such as a picture or a bust.
    I'm sitting for a painter this evening.
  16. To have position, as at the point blown from; to hold a relative position; to have direction.
  17. (obsolete, transitive) To keep one's seat when faced with (a blow, attack); to endure, to put up with. [13th–19th c.]
Conjugation
Conjugation of sit

infinitive (to) sit
present tense past tense
1st-person singular sit sat, sate (dated, poetic)
2nd-person singular

 sat, sate (dated, poetic), sattest†

3rd-person singular

 sits

 sat, sate (dated, poetic)
plural

 sit

subjunctive

 sit

sat, sate (dated, poetic)
imperative

 sit

—
participles

 sitting

 sat, sitten (archaic, dialectal)

Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

sit (plural sits)

  1. An act of sitting.
  2. (mining) Subsidence of the roof of a coal mine.
  3. (rare, Buddhism) An event, usually lasting one full day or more, where the primary goal is to sit in meditation.
Noun

sit (plural sits)

  1. (informal) Short for situation.
Related terms
Sit
Etymology

From the Chinese - surname, Cantonese - variant of Xue.

Proper noun
  1. Surname.
SIT
Noun

sit (plural sits)

  1. (telecommunications) Init of special information tone
  2. (India) Initialism of Special Investigation Team


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