10 Phrasal Verbs with SIT with Meanings and Examples

Hello English learners! In this lesson, you’ll learn 10 phrasal verbs with SIT, together with their meanings, usage notes and natural examples.

You probably already know the verb sit, but what happens when we add words such as back, by, out or through?

The meaning can change completely.

Compare:

Please sit down.
We can’t just sit by and do nothing.
I had to sit through a three-hour meeting.
She decided to sit out the game.

These phrasal verbs with sit are useful in everyday conversation, work situations and written English. Some are also particularly useful for learners preparing for B2 First and C1 Advanced, as phrasal verbs frequently appear in reading, listening and Use of English tasks.

Table of Contents

Want More Phrasal Verb Practice?

If phrasal verbs are something you find difficult to remember, I’ve created a free workbook with 100 useful phrasal verbs for everyday English.

It gives you extra practice so that you can move beyond simply recognising phrasal verbs and start using them more confidently in context.

👉 Download the FREE 100 Phrasal Verbs Workbook

1. Sit about / Sit around

Meaning: to spend time doing very little or nothing.

Sit around is very common in everyday English. Sit about has the same meaning and is particularly common in British English.

I didn’t feel very well yesterday, so I spent most of the day sitting around at home.
You can’t just sit about waiting for someone to offer you a job.

2. Sit back

Meaning 1: to sit in a comfortable, relaxed position.

Just sit back and relax while I make some tea.
She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes.

Meaning 2: to deliberately avoid becoming involved in something.

You can’t simply sit back and expect other people to solve the problem.

A common expression is:

sit back and relax

Sit back, relax and enjoy the journey.

3. Sit by

Meaning: to do nothing while something bad, unfair or unpleasant is happening.

It is often used in the expression:

sit by and watch

We can’t just sit by and watch people being treated unfairly.
She refused to sit by while her colleagues were blamed for something they hadn’t done.

This phrasal verb often suggests disapproval of someone’s inaction.

4. Sit down

Meaning: to move from a standing position into a sitting position.

Please sit down and make yourself comfortable.
James sat down between Mary and Fiona.

Notice this useful pattern:

sit down to + noun / verb

It can mean to begin giving serious attention to something.

We need to sit down and talk about the problem.

5. Sit for

Meaning 1: to pose for an artist or photographer.

She sat for a famous painter when she was young.

Meaning 2: to take an examination.

This use is particularly common in British English.

She is sitting for her final examinations next month.

You may also simply hear:

I’m sitting my English exam on Friday.

6. Sit in for

Meaning: to temporarily do another person’s job or take their place because they are absent.

Jane will sit in for Martin while he is away on a business trip.
Ms Jones is ill, so another teacher will sit in for her today.

Sit in for someone is similar to stand in for someone.

7. Sit on

Meaning: to delay dealing with something or making a decision about it.

The HR department has been sitting on my application for weeks.
Why has the committee sat on my request for so long?

This meaning is usually informal and often suggests that the delay is unnecessary or deliberate.

Another common meaning

Sit on a committee/board/panel means to be a member of it.

She sits on the company’s board of directors.

This is not really a phrasal-verb meaning in the same sense, but it is a useful expression to recognise.

8. Sit out

Meaning 1: to wait until a difficult, dangerous or unpleasant situation has finished.

The tourists sat out the storm in a small shelter.
The company hopes it can sit out the economic downturn.

Meaning 2: to choose not to take part in an activity.

He injured his ankle and had to sit out the match.

This second meaning is especially common when talking about sport, games, dancing or other activities.

9. Sit through

Meaning: to stay until the end of something that is long, boring or unpleasant.

We had to sit through a very long speech at the wedding.
I don’t know how you managed to sit through the whole film.

The expression often suggests that the experience required patience or endurance.

Common mistake

❌ ~~I had to sit in the boring meeting for two hours.~~

✔️ I had to sit through the boring meeting.

If you mean that you stayed from beginning to end despite finding something boring or unpleasant, sit through is the natural choice.

10. Sit up

Meaning 1: to move into an upright sitting position, especially from a lying position.

Is Grandpa strong enough to sit up on his own?
She suddenly sat up in bed when she heard the noise.

Meaning 2: to stay awake later than usual.

We sat up late talking.

You may also hear:

sit up and take notice

This means to suddenly become interested in or pay attention to something.

Her excellent results made everyone sit up and take notice.

Quick Review

Here are the 10 phrasal verbs again:

sit about / sit around – spend time doing very little

sit back – relax or avoid becoming involved

sit by – do nothing while something bad happens

sit down – move into a sitting position

sit for – pose for someone; take an examination

sit in for – temporarily replace someone

sit on – delay dealing with something

sit out – wait until something ends; not participate

sit through – remain until the end of something boring or unpleasant

sit up – move into an upright position; stay awake late

Phrasal Verbs with SIT: Quiz
Loading…

Ready to Learn More Phrasal Verbs?

Learning ten phrasal verbs is a good start, but the real challenge is remembering them and knowing which ones to use in different situations.

If you’d like to study phrasal verbs more systematically, have a look at my Unlock English Bundle: Phrasal Verbs (A2–C1).

The collection is designed to help you build your phrasal verb vocabulary gradually, from more accessible everyday expressions to more advanced language.

👉 Explore the Unlock English Phrasal Verbs Bundle

Final Tip

Learning phrasal verbs with SIT one at a time from long vocabulary lists is rarely the most effective approach. Try to learn them in complete expressions and situations instead:

sit back and relax
sit by and watch
sit out a match
sit through a meeting
sit in for a colleague
sit down and discuss something

This makes it much easier to remember not only what a phrasal verb means, but also how English speakers actually use it.

And remember: you probably won’t improve your English by sitting around — but sitting down for ten minutes of practice every day certainly helps.

Discover more from My Lingua Academy

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.