sit1

[sit] /sɪt/
verb (used without object), sat or (Archaic) sate; sat or (Archaic) sitten; sitting.
1.
to rest with the body supported by the buttocks or thighs; be seated.
2.
to be located or situated:
The house sits well up on the slope.
3.
to rest or lie (usually followed by on or upon):
An aura of greatness sits easily upon him.
4.
to place oneself in position for an artist, photographer, etc.; pose:
to sit for a portrait.
5.
to remain quiet or inactive:
They let the matter sit.
6.
(of a bird) to perch or roost.
7.
(of a hen) to cover eggs to hatch them; brood.
8.
to fit, rest, or hang, as a garment:
The jacket sits well on your shoulders.
9.
to occupy a place or have a seat in an official assembly or in an official capacity, as a legislator, judge, or bishop.
10.
to be convened or in session, as an assembly.
11.
to act as a baby-sitter.
12.
(of wind) to blow from the indicated direction:
The wind sits in the west tonight.
13.
to be accepted or considered in the way indicated:
Something about his looks just didn't sit right with me.
14.
Informal. to be acceptable to the stomach:
Something I ate for breakfast didn't sit too well.
15.
Chiefly British. to take a test or examination:
I’m studying now, and I plan to sit in June.
verb (used with object), sat or (Archaic) sate; sat or (Archaic) sitten; sitting.
16.
to cause to sit; seat (often followed by down):
Sit yourself down. He sat me near him.
17.
to sit astride or keep one's seat on (a horse or other animal):
She sits her horse gracefully.
18.
to provide seating accommodations or seating room for; seat:
Our dining-room table only sits six people.
19.
Informal. to serve as baby-sitter for:
A neighbor can sit the children while you go out.
20.
Chiefly British. to take (a test or examination):
She finally received permission to sit the exam at a later date.
Verb phrases
21.
sit down,
  1. to take a seat.
  2. to descend to a sitting position; alight.
  3. to take up a position, as to encamp or besiege:
    The military forces sat down at the approaches to the city.
22.
sit in,
  1. to attend or take part as a visitor or temporary participant:
    to sit in at a bridge game; to sit in for the band's regular pianist.
  2. to take part in a sit-in.
23.
sit in on, to be a spectator, observer, or visitor at:
to sit in on classes.
24.
sit on/upon,
  1. to inquire into or deliberate over:
    A coroner's jury was called to sit on the case.
  2. Informal. to suppress; silence:
    They sat on the bad news as long as they could.
  3. Informal. to check or rebuke; squelch:
    I'll sit on him if he tries to interrupt me.
25.
sit out,
  1. to stay to the end of:
    Though bored, we sat out the play.
  2. to surpass in endurance:
    He sat out his tormentors.
  3. to keep one's seat during (a dance, competition, etc.); fail to participate in:
    We sat out all the Latin-American numbers.
26.
sit up,
  1. to rise from a supine to a sitting position.
  2. to delay the hour of retiring beyond the usual time.
  3. to sit upright; hold oneself erect.
  4. Informal. to become interested or astonished:
    We all sat up when the holiday was announced.
Idioms
27.
sit on one's hands,
  1. to fail to applaud.
  2. to fail to take appropriate action.
28.
sit pretty, Informal. to be in a comfortable situation:
He's been sitting pretty ever since he got that new job.
29.
sit tight, to bide one's time; take no action:
I'm going to sit tight till I hear from you.
Origin
before 900; Middle English sitten, Old English sittan; cognate with Dutch zitten, German sitzen, Old Norse sitja; akin to Gothic sitan, Latin sedēre, Greek hézesthai (base hed-); cf. set, sedate, cathedral, nest
Synonyms
10. meet, assemble, convene, gather.
Usage note
Compare set.

tight

[tahyt] /taɪt/
adjective, tighter, tightest.
1.
firmly or closely fixed in place; not easily moved; secure:
a tight knot.
2.
drawn or stretched so as to be tense; taut.
3.
affording little or no extra room; fitting closely, especially too closely:
a tight collar.
4.
difficult to deal with or manage:
to be in a tight situation.
5.
of such close or compacted texture, or fitted together so closely, as to be impervious to water, air, steam, etc.:
a good, tight roof.
6.
concise; terse:
a tight style of writing.
7.
firm; rigid:
his tight control of the company.
8.
carefully arranged or organized and full; affording little leeway; compact:
a tight schedule.
9.
nearly even; close:
a tight race.
10.
Informal.
  1. close, as friends; familiar or intimate.
  2. united:
    The strikers are tight in their refusal to accept the proposed contract.
11.
parsimonious; stingy.
12.
Slang. drunk; tipsy.
13.
characterized by scarcity or eager demand; costly; limited; restricted:
a tight job market; tight money.
14.
Journalism. (of a newspaper) having more news available than is required for or utilizable in a particular issue.
15.
Baseball. inside (def 18).
16.
Scot. and North England. competent or skillful.
17.
tidy.
18.
neatly or well built or made.
adverb, tighter, tightest.
19.
in a tight manner; closely; firmly; securely; tensely:
Shut the door tight. The shirt fit tight across the shoulders.
20.
soundly or deeply:
to sleep tight.
Idioms
21.
sit tight, to take no action.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English, sandhi variant of Middle English thight dense, solid, tight < Old Norse thēttr (cognate with Old English -thiht firm, solid, Dutch, German dicht tight, close, dense)
Related forms
tightly, adverb
tightness, noun
overtight, adjective
overtightly, adverb
overtightness, noun
Synonyms
11. close, niggardly, mean, grasping, frugal, sparing.
British Dictionary definitions for sit tight

sit

/sɪt/
verb (mainly intransitive) sits, sitting, sat
1.
(also transitive; when intr, often foll by down, in, or on) to adopt or rest in a posture in which the body is supported on the buttocks and thighs and the torso is more or less upright: to sit on a chair, sit a horse
2.
(transitive) to cause to adopt such a posture
3.
(of an animal) to adopt or rest in a posture with the hindquarters lowered to the ground
4.
(of a bird) to perch or roost
5.
(of a hen or other bird) to cover eggs to hatch them; brood
6.
to be situated or located
7.
(of the wind) to blow from the direction specified
8.
to adopt and maintain a posture for one's portrait to be painted, etc
9.
to occupy or be entitled to a seat in some official capacity, as a judge, elected representative, etc
10.
(of a deliberative body) to be convened or in session
11.
to remain inactive or unused: his car sat in the garage for a year
12.
to rest or lie as specified: the nut was sitting so awkwardly that he couldn't turn it
13.
(of a garment) to fit or hang as specified: that dress sits well on you
14.
to weigh, rest, or lie as specified: greatness sits easily on him
15.
(transitive) (mainly Brit) to take (an examination): he's sitting his bar finals
16.
(usually foll by for) (mainly Brit) to be a candidate (for a qualification): he's sitting for a BA
17.
(intransitive; in combination) to look after a specified person or thing for someone else: granny-sit
18.
(transitive) to have seating capacity for
19.
(informal) sitting pretty, well placed or established financially, socially, etc
20.
sit tight
  1. to wait patiently; bide one's time
  2. to maintain one's position, stand, or opinion firmly
See also sit back, sit down, sit-in, sit on, sit out, sit over, sit under, sit up
Word Origin
Old English sittan; related to Old Norse sitja, Gothic sitan, Old High German sizzen, Latin sedēre to sit, Sanskrit sīdati he sits

SIT

abbreviation
1.
stay in touch

tight

/taɪt/
adjective
1.
stretched or drawn so as not to be loose; taut: a tight cord
2.
fitting or covering in a close manner: a tight dress
3.
held, made, fixed, or closed firmly and securely: a tight knot
4.
  1. of close and compact construction or organization, esp so as to be impervious to water, air, etc
  2. (in combination): watertight, airtight
5.
unyielding or stringent: to keep a tight hold on resources
6.
cramped or constricted: a tight fit
7.
mean or miserly
8.
difficult and problematic: a tight situation
9.
hardly profitable: a tight bargain
10.
(economics)
  1. (of a commodity) difficult to obtain; in excess demand
  2. (of funds, money, etc) difficult and expensive to borrow because of high demand or restrictive monetary policy
  3. (of markets) characterized by excess demand or scarcity with prices tending to rise Compare easy (sense 8)
11.
(of a match or game) very close or even
12.
(of a team or group, esp of a pop group) playing well together, in a disciplined coordinated way
13.
(informal) drunk
14.
(informal) (of a person) showing tension
15.
(archaic or dialect) neat
adverb
16.
in a close, firm, or secure way: pull it tight
17.
sit tight
  1. to wait patiently; bide one's time
  2. to maintain one's position, stand, or opinion firmly
18.
sleep tight, to sleep soundly
Derived Forms
tightly, adverb
tightness, noun
Word Origin
C14: probably variant of thight, from Old Norse thēttr close; related to Middle High German dīhte thick
Word Origin and History for sit tight

tight

adj.

mid-15c., "dense, close, compact," from Middle English thight, from Old Norse þettr "watertight, close in texture, solid," from Proto-Germanic *thenkhtuz (cf. second element in Old English meteþiht "stout from eating;" Middle High German dihte "dense, thick," German dicht "dense, tight," Old High German gidigan, German gediegen "genuine, solid, worthy"), from PIE root *tenk- "to become firm, curdle, thicken" (cf. Irish techt "curdled, coagulated," Lithuanian tankus "close, tight," Persian tang "tight," Sanskrit tanakti "draws together, contracts").

Sense of "drawn, stretched" is from 1570s; meaning "fitting closely" (as of garments) is from 1779; that of "evenly matched" (of a contest, bargain, etc.) is from 1828, American English; that of "drunk" is from 1830; that of "close, sympathetic" is from 1956. Tight-assed "unwilling to relax" is attested from 1903. Tight-laced is recorded from 1741 in both the literal and figurative senses. Tight-lipped is first attested 1876.

sit

v.

Old English sittan "to occupy a seat, be seated, sit down, seat oneself; remain, continue; settle, encamp, occupy; lie in wait; besiege" (class V strong verb; past tense sæt, past participle seten), from Proto-Germanic *setjan (cf. Old Saxon sittian, Old Norse sitja, Danish sidde, Old Frisian sitta, Middle Dutch sitten, Dutch zitten, Old High German sizzan, German sitzen, Gothic sitan), from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit" (see sedentary).

With past tense sat, formerly also set, now restricted to dialect, and sate, now archaic; and past participle sat, formerly sitten. In reference to a legislative assembly, from 1510s. Meaning "to baby-sit" is recorded from 1966.

To sit back "be inactive" is from 1943. To sit on one's hands was originally "to withhold applause" (1926); later, "to do nothing" (1959). To sit around "be idle, do nothing" is 1915, American English. To sit out "not take part" is from 1650s. Sitting pretty is from 1916.

Slang definitions & phrases for sit tight

sit tight

verb phrase
  1. To keep one's present position, stance, convictions, etc; refuse to be moved; stand pat (1890+)
  2. o wait patiently: Be up as quickly as I can, Vicky. Sit tight (1903+)

sit

verb

To take care of; attend and watch over: Who'll sit your house while you're gone? (1945+)

Related Terms

baby-sit, house-sit


tight

adjective
  1. Parsimonious; tight-fisted; stingy: He is tight in his dealings (1805+)
  2. (Variations: as a drum [or a lord or a mink] may be added) Drunk: Little tight, honey?/ I wasn't especially tight (1830+)
  3. Close; sympathetic: John and Mary are very tight (1956+)
  4. Attractive; cool: Renee's wig is tight (1980s+ Students)
Related Terms

sit tight


Related Abbreviations for sit tight

SIT

Slovenia-tolar (currency)
Idioms and Phrases with sit tight

sit tight

Be patient, take no action, as in If you just sit tight I'm sure your passport will be returned to you. [ ; first half of 1700s ]

sit

also see:
at a sitting

tight

also see: