sitting

verb

Definition of sittingnext
present participle of sit
1
as in squatting
to rest on the buttocks or haunches everybody needs to sit down because it's time for class

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in seating
to cause to sit down the host had to sit some of the guests on the porch

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in spawning
to cover and warm eggs as the young inside develop we didn't want to disturb the hens, as they were sitting

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4
as in being
to occupy a place or location the monument that sits at the entrance to the battlefield

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sitting Water could exist beneath a chokingly thick atmosphere, as high-pressure ice, or sitting above an inhospitable interior. — Alix Freckelton, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2026 Upstairs, the entirety of the tiny cottage is the apartment’s primary suite, surrounded by outdoor space, including a sitting area with its own wood-burning fireplace. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 8 Sep. 2026 In Texas, meanwhile, Robert Taylor was sitting at the end of the bench for Austin FC, having made just one regular-season start in two seasons. — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026 The drawing shows one man sitting, one standing, and one almost fading into the background. — Hilton Als, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026 Amid a scorching stretch, Bregman ends the month with his lifetime total now sitting at two. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026 While sitting next to her at Sant Ambroeus in New York, Twine is as light and calm as ever, despite experiencing such pivotal life accomplishments in such quick succession. — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 1 Sep. 2026 There are no staffing meetings, no waiting for someone to become available and no work sitting idle because the right person is on vacation or buried under a backlog of deliverables. — Charles Lew, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026 Reviews do note that, due to the cushion stuffing being so full, a quick fluffing may be required after sitting for long periods of time, just to get the fill back to normal. — Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 1 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sitting
  1. squatting
  2. seating
  3. spawning
  4. standing
  5. setting
  6. putting
  7. laying
  8. lying
Verb
  • The footage, filmed in August at Changlu Tourism and Leisure Park in Guangdong Province, China, and obtained by Newsflare, shows a guest stepping onto a tortoise’s back and squatting on the reptile while holding a child.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2026
  • With the bulk of his work at practice done for the day, Achord retreats to the back of the end zone with Koonz, squatting and scribbling something on paper.
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of squatting
Verb
  • The cavernous confines of Arthur Ashe Stadium, seating capacity nearly 24,000, was perhaps a quarter full, or three-quarters empty, by the time Jakub Menšík and Karolína Muchová took the title.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Thanks to seating charts, the two were constantly placed next to each other in all of their classes, beginning with freshman year at their Atlanta high school.
    — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of seating
Verb
  • The format was part talk show, part first date, and the tone was often flirtatious and awkward, spawning several viral moments over the years.
    — Amy B Wang, Washington Post, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Despite a mixed reception from critics upon its release, Cruel Intentions has since become a cult classic, spawning a prequel, a sequel, a jukebox musical, and a TV series.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of spawning
Verb
  • After Israel destroyed Jenin refugee camp during the Second Intifada in 2002, a young girl looked into Mohammad Bakri’s camera and said that Palestinians would live proudly as eagles and die standing like lions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The risk of standing still, with human-error outages trending in the wrong direction, is real.
    — Song Pang, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of standing
Verb
  • After all, that was the group that revolutionized last year’s offense from strong but static to unpredictable and setting a league-wide trend with 13 personnel and dominated on play-action and in the run game with defenses consistently compromised.
    — Nate Atkins, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Irving then alerts us to the prevalence of bewitchment in the region, setting us up for the Gothic tale to follow.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of setting
Verb
  • But if not, there’s nothing wrong with playing an experienced guy such as Fowler and not putting Lindstein in a position to fail.
    — Jeremy Rutherford, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The ratios offer a little more room for expenses by putting a little less toward savings than the longstanding gold standard, the 50/30/20 budget.
    — Becca Stanek, TheWeek, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of putting
Verb
  • There’s a history of even the best Bengals teams laying eggs in the opener, and Mayfield is 3-0 in Week 1 with Tampa and is coming off his new contract.
    — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Two bells chimed during the ceremony and there was a wreath-laying at the Flight 93 memorial.
    — Kaanita Iyer, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of laying
Verb
  • That includes the energy pumped out from the hearts of galaxies by feeding supermassive black holes, a type of cosmic feedback that smooths out clumpy cosmic matter lying outside galaxies.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Of those same top-six roles, arguably only that of the deepest-lying midfielder, in No 6 Nico Gonzalez, is written in ink rather than pencil.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of lying

Phrases Containing sitting

Browse Nearby Words

sit tight
sitting
sitting duck
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Cite this Entry

“Sitting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sitting. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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