Word of the Day:

October 21, 2025

sedentary

adjective SED-un-tair-ee

What it Means

Something described as sedentary does or involves a lot of sitting. Sedentary can also mean "not physically active" (as in "a sedentary lifestyle") or "not migratory" (as in "sedentary birds" or "a sedentary civilization").

// Editing the dictionary is a sedentary job.

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Sedentary in Context

"From open offices to home workstations, employees across industries invested in sit-stand setups with the hope of counteracting sedentary lifestyles." — Michelle Stansbury, Forbes, 25 Aug. 2025

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Did You Know?

Sedentary comes from the Latin verb sedēre, meaning "to sit." Other descendants of sedēre include dissident, insidious, preside, reside, and subsidy. Sedēre is also the base of the rare sedens, a noun that refers to a person who remains a resident of the place or region of their birth.