SIT (sat, sitting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sit mean? 

• SIT (verb)
  The verb SIT has 10 senses:

1. be seated

2. be around, often idly or without specific purpose

3. take a seat

4. be in session

5. assume a posture as for artistic purposes

6. sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions

7. be located or situated somewhere

8. work or act as a baby-sitter

9. show to a seat; assign a seat for

10. serve in a specific professional capacity

  Familiarity information: SIT used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SIT (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be seated

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

sit; sit down

"Sit" entails doing...:

sit; sit down (take a seat)

Verb group:

seat; sit; sit down (show to a seat; assign a seat for)

sit; sit down (take a seat)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sit"):

lounge (sit or recline comfortably)

sprawl (sit or lie with one's limbs spread out)

perch; rest; roost (sit, as on a branch)

crouch; hunker; hunker down; scrunch; scrunch up; squat (sit on one's heels)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

The children sit in the rocking chair
There sit some children in the rocking chair

Antonym:

lie (be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position)

stand (be standing; be upright)

Also:

sit down (take a seat)

sit out (endure to the end)

Derivation:

sitting (the act of assuming or maintaining a seated position)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be around, often idly or without specific purpose

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

sit; sit around

Context example:

We sat around chatting for another hour

Hypernyms (to "sit" is one way to...):

be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Take a seat

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

sit; sit down

Hypernyms (to "sit" is one way to...):

change posture (undergo a change in bodily posture)

Verb group:

sit; sit down (be seated)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be in session

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

When does the court of law sit?

Hypernyms (to "sit" is one way to...):

convene (meet formally)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

sitting (a session as of a legislature or court)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Assume a posture as for artistic purposes

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

model; pose; posture; sit

Context example:

We don't know the woman who posed for Leonardo so often

Hypernyms (to "sit" is one way to...):

display; exhibit; expose (to show, make visible or apparent)

Domain category:

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sit"):

ramp (be rampant)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

sitter (a person who poses for a painter or sculptor)

sitting ((photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait))

Sense 6

Meaning:

Sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

ride; sit

Context example:

The girl liked to drive the young mare

Hypernyms (to "sit" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Verb group:

ride (sit on and control a vehicle)

Domain category:

horseback riding; riding (travel by being carried on horseback)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sit"):

override (ride (a horse) too hard)

ride herd (driving animals such as horses and cattle while riding along with them)

outride (ride better, faster, or further than)

ride horseback (ride on horseback)

prance (cause (a horse) to bound spring forward)

canter (ride at a cantering pace)

extend; gallop (cause to move at full gallop)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sense 7

Meaning:

Be located or situated somewhere

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

The White House sits on Pennsylvania Avenue

Hypernyms (to "sit" is one way to...):

be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Sense 8

Meaning:

Work or act as a baby-sitter

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

baby-sit; babysit; sit

Context example:

I cannot baby-sit tonight; I have too much homework to do

Hypernyms (to "sit" is one way to...):

guard (to keep watch over)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

sitter (a person engaged to care for children when the parents are not home)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Show to a seat; assign a seat for

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

seat; sit; sit down

Context example:

The host seated me next to Mrs. Smith

Hypernyms (to "sit" is one way to...):

lay; place; pose; position; put; set (put into a certain place or abstract location)

Cause:

sit; sit down (be seated)

Verb group:

sit; sit down (be seated)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sit"):

reseat (show to a different seat)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sense 10

Meaning:

Serve in a specific professional capacity

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Context example:

she sat on the jury

Hypernyms (to "sit" is one way to...):

serve (do duty or hold offices; serve in a specific function)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

 Context examples 

The researchers mapped the genomic distribution of TPT and found that TPT sits near regions of DNA that turn on antimicrobial genes, called promoters.

(Drug might help treat sepsis, NIH)

In the centre of the space it had occupied, he sat down.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

In one experiment, the researchers asked study participants to sit at a computer and take a series of tests that required full concentration in order to score well.

(Presence of Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This warm vortex sits hundreds of miles above the clouds, in the stratosphere, and reveals an unexpected surprise.

(Saturn's Famous Hexagon May Tower Above the Clouds, NASA)

Located about 5 billion light-years from Earth, this massive cluster of galaxies sits between the Earth and the galaxy that contains the distant star.

(Hubble Uncovers the Farthest Star Ever Seen, NASA)

“Oh, heavens! My beloved Catherine, have I got you at last?” was her address on Catherine's entering the box and sitting by her.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

One part sits on the outside of the body, behind the ear.

(Cochlear Implants, NIH)

A question about whether an individual is or was so restless that it was hard to sit still.

(Being So Restless it is Hard to Sit Still, NCI Thesaurus)

Is it hard for your child to sit still?

(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, NIH: National Institute of Mental Health)

A new paper published this week suggests that liquid water may be sitting under a layer of ice at Mars' south pole.

(Possible Subsurface Lake near Martian South Pole, NASA)