Phrasal Verbs with 'sit'

Sit around = to spend time doing very little e.g. This whole week they just sat around doing nothing.

Sit back = to relax in a chair e.g. When he comes home from work, he sits back and watches TV.

Sit back = to wait for something to happen without doing anything e.g. You need to go out. You can’t just sit back and expect someone to come into your life.

Sit by = to fail to take action to stop something wrong happening e.g. They just sat by and watched the large supermarket chain coming into the market.

Sit down = to discuss a subject for a long time e.g. We need to sit down and discuss the arrangements.

Sit in = to be present in a meeting/class without taking part e.g. You don’t need to say anything during the meeting. After all, you are just sitting in.

Sit in for someone = to substitute someone while they are absent e.g. Michelle is away, so Patricia is sitting in for her.

Sit on something = to be on a committee, panel, board etc. e.g. She sits on the Parents Teachers Association.

Sit on something = to delay dealing with something e.g. He hasn’t answered our email yet. I don’t know why he’s still sitting on it.

Sit out something = to be unable to take part in a sport due to injury e.g. She had to sit out the final match because of her injury.

Sit something out = to wait for something unpleasant to be over before taking action e.g. We’ll have to sit out the crisis and then open our new store.

Sit over something = to eat or drink in a relaxed way e.g. Why don’t we sit over a drink and watch the sunset.

Sit through something = to listen/watch something long/boring e.g. The new director spoke for 3 hours and we had to sit through his dull speech.

Sit up = to stay awake late e.g. We sat up until 3am talking about our primary school.

Sit up = to get someone’s attention e.g. As soon as I mentioned chocolate, she sat up!