sit up

English

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sit up

Where it comes from

From Middle English upsitten (“to sit up”).

verb sits up · sitting up · sat up

intransitive To assume a sitting position from a position lying down. Despite being cancer-ridden, Lorin sat up to greet the visitors.
intransitive To sit erect. Sit up straight, mister!
intransitive To show sudden interest or surprise. He sat up when we mentioned the increased pay package.
of the ball To bounce, especially to a comfortable height. And within five minutes of the change United were level. Gabriel Obertan tuned his marker inside out and delivered a cross from the right that hit Hernandez and sat up perfectly for Owen to nod home.
To not go to bed (notionally remaining in a sitting position). I sat up all night waiting for her to come home.
To stop pedalling hard. Half way up the climb, Jones sat up and let Smith continue alone.
India, historical For a young lady to open her house for several successive nights for any visitors who wish to pay their respects.

noun sit ups

alternative Alternative spelling of sit-up

Translations

Every language

verb to rise to a sitting position

Español	sentarse, soliviarse
Deutsch	sich aufsetzen
Ελληνικά	ανακάθομαι anakáthomai
Tiếng Việt	ngồi dậy

verb to sit erect

Tiếng Việt	ngồi thẳng

verb to show sudden interest

Tiếng Việt	sáng mắt

verb sports: to bounce

Deutsch	hochschlagen

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Cite this

MLA

"sit up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sit%20up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sit up. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sit%20up

Chicago

"sit up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sit%20up.

BibTeX

@misc{sit_up_2026,
  title = {sit up},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sit%20up},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}