# sit

> English word · Verb · IPA /sɪt/ · frequency rank #1,355

## Definitions
1. To be in a position in which the upper body is upright and supported by the buttocks.
2. To move oneself into such a position.
3. To occupy a given position.
4. To remain in a state of repose; to rest; to abide; to rest in any position or condition.
5. To be a member of a deliberative body.
6. Of a legislative or, especially, a judicial body such as a court, to be in session.
7. To lie, rest, or bear; to press or weigh.
8. To be adjusted; to fit.
9. To be accepted or acceptable; to work.
10. To cause to be seated or in a sitting posture; to furnish a seat to.
11. To accommodate in seats; to seat.
12. To babysit.
13. 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.
16. To have position, as at the point blown from; to hold a relative position; to have direction.
17. To keep one's seat when faced with (a blow, attack); to endure, to put up with.

## 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; and with Irish suigh, Latin sedeo, Russian сиде́ть (sidétʹ).

## Easily confused with
- **so** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-so)
- **SS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-ss)
- **SP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sp)
- **su** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-su)
- **SM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sm)
- **SW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sw)
- **SL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sl)
- **SK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sk)
- **SV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sv)
- **SJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sj)
- **Sy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sy)
- **six** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-six)
- **son** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-son)
- **sun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sun)
- **sky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sky)
- **sub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sub)
- **sum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sum)
- **spy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-spy)
- **sue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-sue)
- **ski** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-ski)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sit