Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Sitting

Sit′ting

,
Adj.
Being in the state, or the position, of one who, or that which, sits.

Sit′ting

,
Noun.
1.
The state or act of one who sits; the posture of one who occupies a seat.
2.
A seat, or the space occupied by or allotted for a person, in a church, theater, etc.;
as, the hall has 800
sittings
.
3.
The act or time of sitting, as to a portrait painter, photographer, etc.
4.
The actual presence or meeting of any body of men in their seats, clothed with authority to transact business; a session;
as, a
sitting
of the judges of the King’s Bench, or of a commission
.
The
sitting
closed in great agitation.
Macaulay.
5.
The time during which one sits while doing something, as reading a book, playing a game, etc.
For the understanding of any one of St. Paul's Epistles I read it all through at one
sitting
.
Locke.
6.
A brooding over eggs for hatching, as by fowls.
The male bird . . . amuses her [the female] with his songs during the whole time of her
sitting
.
Addison.
Sitting room
,
an apartment where the members of a family usually sit, as distinguished from a drawing-room, parlor, chamber, or kitchen.

Webster 1828 Edition


Sitting

SIT'TING

,
ppr.
1.
Resting on the buttocks, or on the feet, as fowls; incubating; brooding; being in the actual exercise of authority, or being assembled for that purpose.
2.
a. In botany, sessile.

Definition 2024


sitting

sitting

English

Noun

sitting (plural sittings)

  1. A period during which one is seated for a specific purpose.
    Due to the sheer volume of guests, we had to have two sittings for the meal.
    The Queen had three sittings for her portrait.
  2. A legislative session.
  3. The act (of a bird) of incubating eggs; the clutch of eggs under a brooding bird.

Translations

Verb

sitting

  1. present participle of sit

Derived terms

Adjective

sitting (not comparable)

  1. Executed from a sitting position.
  2. Occupying a specific official or legal position; incumbent.
    • 2013 June 22, Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
      Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. [] Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.

Derived terms

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: cast · speaking · circumstances · #786: sitting · Christ · begin · wait