sat

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

sit

(sit) – present participle sitting: past tense, past participle sat (sӕt) – verb

1. to (cause to) rest on the buttocks; to (cause to) be seated. He likes sitting on the floor; They sat me in the chair and started asking questions.

2. to lie or rest; to have a certain position. The parcel is sitting on the table.

3. (with on) to be an official member of (a board, committee etc). He sat on several committees.

4. (of birds) to perch. An owl was sitting in the tree by the window.

5. to undergo (an examination).

6. to take up a position, or act as a model, in order to have one's picture painted or one's photograph taken. She is sitting for a portrait/photograph.

7. (of a committee, parliament etc) to be in session. Parliament sits from now until Christmas.

ˈsitter noun

1. a person who poses for a portrait etc.

2. a baby-sitter.

ˈsitting noun

a period of continuous action, meeting etc. I read the whole book at one sitting; The committee were prepared for a lengthy sitting.

ˈsit-in noun

an occupation of a building etc by protesters. The students staged a sit-in.

ˈsitting-room noun

a room used mainly for sitting in.

sitting target, sitting duck

someone or something that is in an obvious position to be attacked. If they're reducing staff, he's a sitting target.

sit back

to rest and take no part in an activity. He just sat back and let it all happen.

sit down

to (cause to) take a seat, take a sitting position. Let's sit down over here; He sat the child down on the floor.

sit out

1. to remain seated during a dance. Let's sit (this one) out.

2. to remain inactive and wait until the end of. They'll try to sit out the crisis.

sit tight

to keep the same position or be unwilling to move or act. The best thing to do is to sit tight and see if things improve.

sit up

1. to rise to a sitting position. Can the patient sit up?

2. to remain awake, not going to bed. I sat up until 3 a.m. waiting for you!