sit

verb

human resting position; body weight is supported primarily by the buttocks in contact with the ground or a horizontal object such as a chair
be in a position
take an examination
keep secret, have access to info but not do anything about it

L1343 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /sɪt/

name

Etymology: From the Chinese surname, from Cantonese 薛 (sit³).

A surname.

noun

Clipping of situation.
“The increasing scope of the disaster was relayed in short, terse sentences whose brevity does not conceal the unfolding nightmare. […] In mid-afternoon at 1600: “Sit is getting worse; need help badly,” “have considerable number of wounded that are unable to evacuate.””

verb

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sed- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *sédyeti Proto-Germanic *sitjaną Proto-West Germanic *sittjan Old English sittan Middle English sitten English sit From Middle English sitten, from Old English sittan, from Proto-West Germanic *sittjan, from Proto-Germanic *sitjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“sit”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian sitte, Low German sitten, Dutch zitten, German sitzen, Swedish sitta, Norwegian Bokmål sitte, Norwegian Nynorsk sitja, Danish sidde, Faroese sita, Icelandic sitja; and with Irish suigh, Latin sedeo, Russian сиде́ть (sidétʹ).

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.”
“You're finishing the chowder if you sit there (motionless) all evening!”
To move oneself into such a position.
“I asked him to sit.”
To occupy a given position.
“The dishes are still sitting on the table!”
“The temple has sat atop that hill for centuries.”
To remain in a state of repose; to rest; to abide; to rest in any position or condition.
“And Moses said to […] the children of Reuben, Shall your brothren go to war, and shall ye sit here?”
“Like a demigod here sit I in the sky.”
To be a member of a deliberative body.
“I currently sit on a standards committee.”
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?”
To lie, rest, or bear; to press or weigh.
“The calamity sits heavy on us.”
To be adjusted; to fit.
“Your new coat sits well.”
“This new and gorgeous garment, majesty, / Sits not so easy on me as you think.”
To be accepted or acceptable; to work.
“How will this new contract sit with the workers?”
“I don’t think it will sit well.”
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.”
To accommodate in seats; to seat.
“The dining room table sits eight comfortably.”
“I sat me weary on a pillar's base, / And leaned against the shaft”
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.”
To take, to undergo or complete (an examination or test).
To cover and warm eggs for hatching, as a fowl; to brood; to incubate.
“The partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not.”
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.”
To have position, as at the point blown from; to hold a relative position; to have direction.
“like a good miller that knows how to grind, which way soever the wind sits”
“Sits the wind in that quarter?”
To keep one's seat when faced with (a blow, attack); to endure, to put up with.
“Louisa, who […] had but ill born the commencement of this conversation, could sit it no longer, and hastily throwing up the sash, complained of the intense heat of the room.”