Sit down meaning
Sit down means to move your body from standing to sitting. It can also mean to meet with someone to talk about something serious.
sit down
sit down · sat · sitting
Please sit down and open your books.
Sit down meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Move your body from standing to sitting
sit down
- Please sit down and open your books.
- Can I sit down here? My feet hurt.
- She came in and sat down next to me.
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2
Meet with someone to talk about something serious
sit down
- We need to sit down and talk about money.
- The two teams will sit down next week to agree a deal.
- Let’s sit down with the boss and explain the problem.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use sit down in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is sit down separable?
Sit down has no object: Please sit down. To make someone sit, use sit someone down: She sat me down and told me the news.
As an adjective, sit-down means at a table: a sit-down dinner, a sit-down restaurant. Sit and sit down are close, but sit down stresses the moment you move.
Verb tenses for sit down
| Present | I sit down · she sits down |
|---|---|
| Past | sat down |
| Present perfect | have sat down |
| -ing form | sitting down |
Common mistakes with sit down
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: Please sit you down.
Right: Please sit down.
Sit down has no object. Do not add you.
Wrong: He sitted down on the bench.
Right: He sat down on the bench.
The past of sit is sat.
Wrong: I was sat down all day at work.
Right: I was sitting down all day at work.
For a long time, use sitting. I was sat is common in UK speech but not standard.
Synonyms and opposites of sit down
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- take a seata polite way to ask someone to sit down
- have a seatfriendly and polite: Please, have a seat
- lie downput your body flat to rest
Sit down quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1The bus was full, so I couldn’t ___.
Sit down means move from standing to sitting.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Sit down has no object.
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3Your manager says, “Let’s sit down on Monday and talk about your plan.” What will you do?
Sit down with someone can mean meet to talk about something serious.
More phrasal verbs with sit
2 phrasal verbs start with sit. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
Sit down FAQ
Questions people ask about sit down.
Sit vs sit down: what is the difference?
Sit can describe where you are: I sat by the window. Sit down is the action of moving into a seat: Sit down, please. Teachers and doctors often say sit down.
Is sit down polite?
Sit down! can sound like an order. To be polite, say please sit down, have a seat or take a seat.
What is a sit-down meal?
A sit-down meal is served at a table, not standing or on the go. A sit-down wedding dinner.
Use sit down in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.