Meanings
present singular third person sits down · participle present sitting down · past sat down · dated past poetic sate down · participle past sat down · archaic dialectal participle past sitten down
- intransitiveTo assume a sitting position from a standing position.
Sit down! We have work to do.
5 more examples
I sat down in the armchair, and my sis sat down on the floor.
And lo / many publicans and ſynners / cam and ſatt downe alſo with Ieſus / and his diſciples.
1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew ix:[10], folio xj, rectoFrom thence he cometh forth again ⁊ ſitteth down vnder his cloth of eſtate.
1560 September 25, Ihon Daus, transl., A Famouse Cronicle of Oure Time, Called Sleidanes Commentaries, Concerning the State of Religion and Common Wealth, […], London: […] Ihon Daye, for Abraham Veale, and Nicholas England, folio cccxij, versoWhen ſhe knew this galley a farre of, ſhe lift vp a ſigne in the poope of her ſhippe, and ſo Antonius comming to it, was pluckt vp where Cleopatra was, howbeit he ſaw her not at his firſt comming, nor ſhe him, but went and ſate down alone in the prowe of his ſhippe, and ſaid neuer a word, clapping his head betwene both his hands.
1579, Plutarke of Chæronea [i.e., Plutarch], “The Life of Marcus Antonius”, in Thomas North, transl., The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romaines, […], London: […] Richard Field, →OCLC, page 1001Therfore where it is ſuppoſed that Chriſt and his Apoſtles miniſtred & receiued ſitting but by occaſion, and not of purpoſe: becauſe they were ſitting before in eating the paſſeover. wher as if Chriſt had ſitten down of purpoſ to adminiſter the cõmunion, then all that is ſaid is graunted to be ſome purpoſe.
1605, [William Bradshaw], A Proposition. Concerning Kneeling in the Very Act of Receiuing Howsoever. […], page 13Synonyms: be seated, take a pew, take a seat
- reflexivetransitiveTo cause to be seated or in a sitting posture; to furnish a seat to.
Sit your ass down and shut up.
4 more examples
I sat him down and explained to him how things truly work around here.
Coming home, therefore, I sat me down secretly under the Shrine of St. Edmund, fearing lest our Lord Abbot should seize and imprison me.
1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. 6, Monk Samson”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book II (The Ancient Monk)Oh I will sit me down and weep / For bones in Africa.
1922, A. E. Housman, Astronomy, lines 3–4Two YC partners sat Altman down last year “and told him, ‘Slow down, chill out!’
2016 October 3, Tad Friend, “Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny”, in The New Yorker - figurativelyintransitiveTo meet formally at a conference table.
1 more example
Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.
2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18 - figurativelyintransitiveTo meet with someone for discussions, negotiations or interrogation.
I sat down with him about the allegations.
- intransitiveTo assume a low or sunken position.
The ball scooted off the fairway and sat down in the thick rough.
1 more example
As we all climbed aboard, the little boat sat down low in the water.
- AustraliaintransitiveIn Aboriginal use, to live or stay at (a place).
He ‘sat down’ for days, regaining his strength, quietly sizing up his little kingdom.
1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 271 more example
‘He sit down long time, plenty days, too quiet altogether. All a time he look out young lubra.’
1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 126
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo assume a sitting position from a standing position.
More synonyms by meaning
verbbe in a position in which one's upper body is largely upright and supported by one's backside
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Ancient Greek καθίζω
- καθίζω (kathízō)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Arabic جَلَسَ, قَعَدَ
- جَلَسَ (jalasa)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
- قَعَدَ (qaʕada)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Basque eseri
- eserito assume a sitting position from a standing position
Bulgarian ся́дам, се́дна
- ся́дам (sjádam)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
- се́дна (sédna)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Catalan asseure's
- asseure'sto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Chinese Cantonese 坐低
- 坐低 (co⁵ dai¹)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Chinese Mandarin 坐下, 坐
- 坐下 (zuòxià)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
- 坐 (zuò)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
- 坐下來 /坐下来 (zuòxiàlái)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Czech posadit se, sednout si
- posadit seto assume a sitting position from a standing position
- sednout sito assume a sitting position from a standing position
- sedat sito assume a sitting position from a standing position
Dutch gaan zitten
- gaan zittento assume a sitting position from a standing position
Esperanto sidiĝi
- sidiĝito assume a sitting position from a standing position
Finnish istuutua, istua alas
- istuutuato assume a sitting position from a standing position
- istua alasto assume a sitting position from a standing position
French s'asseoir
- s'asseoirto assume a sitting position from a standing position
German sich setzen
- sich setzento assume a sitting position from a standing position
Hebrew התיישב \ הִתְיַשֵּׁב
- התיישב \ הִתְיַשֵּׁב (hityashév)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Hindi बैठना
- बैठना (baiṭhnā)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Hungarian leül
- leülto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Italian sedersi, accomodarsi
- sedersito assume a sitting position from a standing position
- accomodarsito assume a sitting position from a standing position
- assettarsito assume a sitting position from a standing position
Japanese 座る, 腰掛ける
- 座る (suwaru)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
- 腰掛ける (koshikakeru)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Korean 앉다
- 앉다 (anda)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Latin sīdō, cōnsīdō
- sīdōto assume a sitting position from a standing position
- cōnsīdōto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Persian نشستن
- نشستن (nešastan)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Polish siadać, usiąść
- siadaćto assume a sitting position from a standing position
- usiąśćto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Portuguese sentar-se
- sentar-seto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Romanian așeza, sta jos
- așezato assume a sitting position from a standing position
- sta josto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Russian сади́ться, сесть
- сади́ться (sadítʹsja)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
- сесть (sestʹ)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Slovak sadnúť si, posadiť sa
- sadnúť sito assume a sitting position from a standing position
- posadiť sato assume a sitting position from a standing position
Spanish sentarse
- sentarseto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Swahili kukaa, kukaa kitako
- kukaato assume a sitting position from a standing position
- kukaa kitakoto assume a sitting position from a standing position
- kuketito assume a sitting position from a standing position
- keti chinito assume a sitting position from a standing position
Swedish sätta sig
- sätta sigto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Tagalog umupo, lumuklok
- umupoto assume a sitting position from a standing position
- lumuklokto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Thai นั่ง
- นั่ง (nâng)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Turkish oturmak
- oturmakto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Ukrainian сіда́ти, сі́сти
- сіда́ти (sidáty)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
- сі́сти (sísty)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Urdu بیٹھنا
- بیٹھنا (baiṭhnā)to assume a sitting position from a standing position
Vietnamese ngồi xuống, ngồi
- ngồi xuốngto assume a sitting position from a standing position
- ngồito assume a sitting position from a standing position
Welsh eistedd i lawr, mynd ar ei eistedd
- eistedd i lawrto assume a sitting position from a standing position
- mynd ar ei eisteddto assume a sitting position from a standing position
Cite this entry
sit down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sit%20down
“sit down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sit%20down. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sit down,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sit%20down.
Source: sit down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.