sit on
To block, suppress, restrain (something).
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The manager decided to sit on the bad news for a while.”
“The board of directors chose to sit on the report until they found a way to address the public concerns.”
“Fearing a market panic, the central bank opted to sit on the sensitive data regarding the currency devaluation until the end of the fiscal quarter.”
- 01
sit back
To relax, to not exert oneself.
- 02
sit in
To attend a class, educational presentation, meeting, etc. for one time, as a visitor.
- 03
sit in for
To substitute; to take somebody's place.
- 04
sit in with
To join (often as an observer, supervisor or outsider) a group working together on a task.
- 05
sit on a tack
An expression of contempt or dismissiveness directed at someone, particularly in the case of disagreement.
- 06
sit on one's ass
To be very lazy and idle, especially when immediate action is required.
- 07
sit on one's hands
To remain idle when action is needed, perhaps because of fear, ignorance, complacency, indecisiveness, or dislike of the person(s) or situation.
- 08
sit on the fence
To remain neutral on a certain topic, to not have a stance or opinion.
Last updated August 10, 2026