sitter

noun

sit·​ter ˈsi-tər 

1

: one that sits: such as

a

: a person who sits for a portrait or a bust

Usually commissioned by the sitters themselves, some images straddle the line between individual portrait and genre scene …

—Naomi Rosenblum

b

: a person who takes care of someone or something in the place of a parent, owner, etc.

pet sitters

The next time you hire a sitter [=babysitter], remind your daughter what happened the last time and let her know that you are only a phone call away.

—John Rosemond

see also house sitter

2

a

: an easy target

a sitter for enemy submarines

b

sports : an easy scoring or fielding chance

… missed an absolute sitter in the 44th minute to keep the game scoreless.

—Jamie Goldberg

Synonyms

• babysitter
• dry nurse
• nanny
• nannie
• nurse
• nursemaid
• nurser

Examples of sitter in a Sentence

They hired a sitter so they could go out.

we'll be going to the movie if we can get a sitter for the kids

Recent Examples on the Web

The portraits play out as performances by the artist and the sitters. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025

Apolinario, meanwhile, has seen strong interest in another type of sitter—not for kids, but for dogs. —Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2025

Savvy designer shoppers often recruit line sitters for sample sales. —Sami Sparber, Axios, 2 Feb. 2025

To Pepsi's dog sitter Noureen, who only shared her first name, she's always been a smart pup. —Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing sitter

• bed-sitter
• house sitter

Rhymes for sitter

• bitter
• critter
• fitter
• fritter
• glitter
• hitter
• jitter
• knitter
• litter
• quitter
• ritter
• splitter

Kids Definition

sitter

noun

sit·​ter ˈsit-ər 

: one that sits

especially : a person who babysits

Biographical Definition

Sitter

biographical name

Sit·​ter ˈsi-tər 

Willem de 1872–1934 Dutch astronomer