The word ‘sit‘ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meaning is to support one’s weight by one’s bottom or be in a particular state.
For example:
- Sit down and start listening. (support one’s weight)
- Harry is sitting on a goldmine with his classic car collection. (in a particular state)
Sit is an irregular verb. The past tense is sat and the past participle is sat.
phrasal verbs with sit
Phrasal verbs with ‘sit’ include:
- sit about/around
meaning – sit and do nothing
example – The teacher was late, so we sat about for the first 20 minutes. - sit back
meaning – relax in a chair or wait for something to happen
example – Sit back, close your eyes and imagine you are on a secluded beach. - sit by
meaning – make no effort to help
example – I can’t sit by and watch you destroy your life. I’ve arranged for you to go to rehab. - sit down
meaning – sit on a surface
example – All the children sat down and waited for further instructions. - sit for
meaning – pose/wait or look after someone’s children/animals
example – The Royal family sat for hours while their new portrait was painted. - sit in
meaning – wait inside
example – The weather has been awful, so we sat in and watched films all day. - sit in for
meaning – take someone’s work/responsibility whist they are away
example – I’ve got to sit in for Julie while she is in Italy. - sit on
meaning – hold back information or sit on a surface
example – The government knew the country was in debt, they were sitting on the information for months. - sit out
meaning – not participate
example – I’ll sit out the first round so I can see how to play the game. - sit through
meaning – endure something boring
example – I’ve sat through all of his meetings, but I refuse to go again. - sit up
meaning – move from a lying to a sitting position or suddenly take notice
example – The employees sat up and started listening when they heard about the takeover. - sit with
meaning – stay with someone or agree with
example – Can you sit with the kids for 10 minutes whilst I go to the shop for some milk?
picture examples
Let’s learn the meaning of the phrasal verbs that contain the verb ‘sit’ in more detail and see some examples in use.
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