Sit up meaning
Sit up means to move from lying down to sitting. It can also mean to sit with your back straight.
sit up
sit up · sat · sitting
I heard a noise and sat up in bed.
Sit up meanings and examples
4 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 from lying down to sitting
sit up
- I heard a noise and sat up in bed.
- Can you sit up so I can see your back?
- The patient was too weak to sit up.
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2
Sit with your back straight
sit up
- Sit up straight at the table, please.
- She always sits up very straight at her desk.
- Don’t slouch at the table. Sit up!
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3
Stay awake and not go to bed until late (UK)
sit up
- We sat up all night talking about old times.
- Mum sat up waiting for us to come home.
- Don’t sit up too late. You have school tomorrow.
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4
Suddenly start to pay attention (informal)
sit up
- The news made everyone sit up and listen.
- People sat up and took notice when she won.
- This result should make the big companies sit up.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use sit up 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 up separable?
Sit up usually has no object: She sat up. To help another person into a sitting position, put them in the middle: The nurse sat him up.
A sit-up, with a hyphen, is also an exercise: you lie on your back and lift your body up to make your stomach strong. Sit up and take notice means suddenly pay attention.
Verb tenses for sit up
| Present | I sit up · she sits up |
|---|---|
| Past | sat up |
| Present perfect | have sat up |
| -ing form | sitting up |
Common mistakes with sit up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: Sit up straightly, please.
Right: Sit up straight, please.
Straight is the adverb here. Straightly is not used.
Wrong: I sit up at seven every morning and go to work.
Right: I get up at seven every morning and go to work.
Get up means leave your bed to start the day. Sit up only means move to sitting.
Wrong: The nurse sat up him in the bed.
Right: The nurse sat him up in the bed.
A pronoun goes between sit and up.
Synonyms and opposites of sit up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
Opposite
- lie downmove your body flat to rest
- slouchsit with your back bent in a lazy way
Sit up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1The phone rang at 3 a.m. and I ___ in bed.
Sit up means move from lying to sitting.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Say sit up straight, with no -ly.
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3“We sat up till two, chatting.” What did they do?
Sit up can mean stay awake late, mainly in UK English.
More phrasal verbs with sit
2 phrasal verbs start with sit. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
Sit up FAQ
Questions people ask about sit up.
What is a sit-up?
A sit-up is an exercise. You lie on your back with knees bent and lift your upper body. I do 30 sit-ups every morning.
Sit up vs stay up: what is the difference?
Both can mean not go to bed. Stay up is much more common. Sit up suggests sitting and waiting or talking: Mum sat up waiting for me.
What does sit up and take notice mean?
It means suddenly start to pay attention because something is surprising or important. The low price made shoppers sit up and take notice.
Use sit up 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.