SITTING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sitting mean? 

• SITTING (noun)
  The noun SITTING has 4 senses:

1. (photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)

2. the act of assuming or maintaining a seated position

3. a meeting of spiritualists

4. a session as of a legislature or court

  Familiarity information: SITTING used as a noun is uncommon.

• SITTING (adjective)
  The adjective SITTING has 2 senses:

1. (of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks

2. not moving and therefore easy to attack

  Familiarity information: SITTING used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SITTING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

posing; sitting

Context example:

he wanted his portrait painted but couldn't spare time for the sitting

Hypernyms ("sitting" is a kind of...):

motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)

Domain category:

photography; picture taking (the act of taking and printing photographs)

Derivation:

sit (assume a posture as for artistic purposes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of assuming or maintaining a seated position

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

he read the mystery at one sitting

Hypernyms ("sitting" is a kind of...):

motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)

Derivation:

sit (be seated)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A meeting of spiritualists

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

seance; session; sitting

Context example:

the seance was held in the medium's parlor

Hypernyms ("sitting" is a kind of...):

get together; meeting (a small informal social gathering)

Meronyms (parts of "sitting"):

spirit rapping; table rapping; table tapping (alleged form of communication with spirits of the dead)

table lifting; table tilting; table tipping; table turning (manipulation of a table during a seance; attributed to spirits)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A session as of a legislature or court

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("sitting" is a kind of...):

session (a meeting for execution of a group's functions)

Derivation:

sit (be in session)

• SITTING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks

Synonyms:

seated; sitting

Context example:

the audience remained seated

Sense 2

Meaning:

Not moving and therefore easy to attack

Context example:

a sitting target

Similar:

nonmoving; unmoving (not in motion)

 Context examples 

“Me!” cried Fanny, sitting down again with a most frightened look.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

This bone is positioned at the anterior part of the cranium, sitting between the two orbits, at the roof of the nose.

(Ethmoid Bone, NCI Thesaurus)

He is sorry at this moment, sitting by the fireside with Miss Murdstone; but if I was to go in, Peggotty, he would be something besides.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The Colonel had been sitting in the dining-room, but hearing that his wife had returned he joined her in the morning-room.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Sitting still for a long time can make you more likely to get a DVT.

(Deep Vein Thrombosis, NIH)

He paused when he had got into a sitting position on the edge.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

John Thornton was sitting near the edge, Buck at his shoulder.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

When Mr. Cole had moved away, and her attention could be restored as before, she saw Frank Churchill looking intently across the room at Miss Fairfax, who was sitting exactly opposite.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Again I awoke in the night, and found Lucy sitting up in bed, still asleep, pointing to the window.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)