Phrase guide

sit down

verb · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To assume a sitting position from a standing position.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • Sit down! We have work to do.
  • I sat down in the armchair, and my sis sat down on the floor.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To cause to be seated or in a sitting posture; to furnish a seat to.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: reflexive, transitive

Examples

  • Sit your ass down and shut up.
  • I sat him down and explained to him how things truly work around here.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To meet formally at a conference table.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To meet with someone for discussions, negotiations or interrogation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, intransitive

Examples

  • I sat down with him about the allegations.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To assume a low or sunken position.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • The ball scooted off the fairway and sat down in the thick rough.
  • As we all climbed aboard, the little boat sat down low in the water.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

In Aboriginal use, to live or stay at (a place).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To take up residence in or settle (an area).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, intransitive, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

be seated

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sit

Antonyms: none provided

Narrower terms: lounge, sprawl, perch, roost, rest, squat, crouch, scrunch, scrunch up, hunker, hunker down

9

verb

Meaning 9

show to a seat; assign a seat for

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The host seated me next to Mrs. Smith

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: seat, sit

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: put, set, place, pose, position, lay

Narrower terms: reseat

10

verb

Meaning 10

take a seat

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sit

Antonyms: arise

Broader terms: change posture

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

119 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Abkhaz: атәара (atwʼara) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Ainu: ア (a) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Albanian: ulem — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Arabic: جَلَسَ (jalasa) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Arabic: قَعَدَ (qaʕada) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Arabic: قعد (ʔaʕad) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Armenian: նստել (nstel) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Azerbaijani: oturmaq — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Azerbaijani: əyləşmək — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Basque: eseri — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Belarusian: сяда́ць (sjadácʹ) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Belarusian: садзі́цца (sadzícca) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Belarusian: се́сці (sjésci) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Central Bikol: tukaw — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Bulgarian: ся́дам (sjádam) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Bulgarian: се́дна (sédna) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Burmese: ထိုင် (htuing) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Catalan: asseure's — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Cherokee: ᏦᏞᏍᏗ (tsotlesdi) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Chinese Cantonese: 坐低 (co5 dai1) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Chinese: зуәха (zuəha) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Chinese: 坐下 (chē-hā) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Chinese: 坐落來 /坐落来 (chē--lo̍h-lâi) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Chinese Mandarin: 坐下 (zuòxià) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Chinese Mandarin: 坐 (zuò) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Chinese Mandarin: 坐下來 /坐下来 (zuòxiàlái) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Ngazidja Comorian: ukantsi — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Czech: posadit se — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Czech: sednout si — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Czech: sedat si — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Dutch: gaan zitten — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Esperanto: sidiĝi — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Finnish: istuutua — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Finnish: istua alas — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • French: s'asseoir — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Galician: sentar — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Galician: asentar — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Georgian: დაჯდომა (daǯdoma) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • German: sich setzen — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (gasitan) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Ancient Greek: καθίζω (kathízō) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Haitian Creole: chita — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Hebrew: התיישב \ הִתְיַשֵּׁב (hityashév) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Hindi: बैठना (baiṭhnā) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Hungarian: leül — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Ido: sideskar — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Italian: sedersi — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Italian: accomodarsi — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Italian: assettarsi — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Japanese: 座る (suwaru) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Japanese: 腰掛ける (koshikakeru) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Kalmyk: суух (suux) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Kapampangan: lukluk — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Kazakh: отыру (otyru) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Khmer: អង្គុយ (ʼɑɑʼɑngkuy) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Korean: 앉다 (anda) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Central Kurdish: دانیشتن (danîştin) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Northern Kurdish: rûniştin — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Kyrgyz: отуруу (oturuu) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Kyrgyz: олтуруу (olturuu) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Lao: ນັ່ງ (nang) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Latin: sīdō — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Latin: cōnsīdō — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Macedonian: седнува (sednuva) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Macedonian: седне (sedne) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Mongolian: суух (suux) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Neapolitan: s'assettà — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Norman: s'assiéthe — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Persian: نشستن (nešastan) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Polish: siadać — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Polish: usiąść — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Portuguese: sentar-se — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Romanian: așeza — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Romanian: sta jos — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Romansh: seser — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Russian: сади́ться (sadítʹsja) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Russian: сесть (sestʹ) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Sanskrit: सीदति (sīdati) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Serbo-Croatian: се̏сти — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Serbo-Croatian: сје̏сти — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Serbo-Croatian: с́е̏сти — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Serbo-Croatian: систи — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Serbo-Croatian: sȅsti — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Serbo-Croatian: sjȅsti — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Serbo-Croatian: śȅsti — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Serbo-Croatian: sisti — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Sicilian: assettàrisi — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Slovak: sadnúť si — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Slovak: posadiť sa — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Slovene: usesti se — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Slovene: sesti — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Lower Sorbian: sednuś se — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Spanish: sentarse — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Swahili: kukaa — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Swahili: kukaa kitako — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Swahili: kuketi — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Swahili: keti chini — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Swedish: sätta sig — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Tagalog: umupo — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Tagalog: lumuklok — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Tajik: нишастан (nišastan) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Tatar: утырырга (utırırğa) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Thai: นั่ง (nâng) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Tok Pisin: sindaun — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Tooro: -ikarra — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Turkish: oturmak — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Turkmen: oturmak — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Ugaritic: 𐎊𐎘𐎁 (yṯb) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Ukrainian: сіда́ти (sidáty) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Ukrainian: сі́сти (sísty) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Urdu: بیٹھنا (baiṭhnā) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Uyghur: ئولتۇرماق (olturmaq) — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Uzbek: oʻtirmoq — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Vietnamese: ngồi xuống — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Vietnamese: ngồi — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Welsh: eistedd i lawr — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Welsh: mynd ar ei eistedd — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Yucatec Maya: kutal — to assume a sitting position from a standing position
  • Yucatec Maya: kultal — to assume a sitting position from a standing position