TOP

Definition of seat verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

seat

verb
 
/siːt/
 
/siːt/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they seat
 
/siːt/
 
/siːt/
he / she / it seats
 
/siːts/
 
/siːts/
past simple seated
 
/ˈsiːtɪd/
 
/ˈsiːtɪd/
past participle seated
 
/ˈsiːtɪd/
 
/ˈsiːtɪd/
-ing form seating
 
/ˈsiːtɪŋ/
 
/ˈsiːtɪŋ/
jump to other results

    sit down

  1. seat somebody/yourself (formal) to give somebody a place to sit; to sit down in a place
    • Please wait to be seated (= in a restaurant, etc.).
    • Please be seated (= sit down).
    • He seated himself behind the desk.
    • She was wondering where to seat her guests.
    • I found myself seated next to her.
    Synonyms sitsitsit down be seated take a seat perchThese words all mean to rest your weight on your bottom with your back straight, for example on a chair.sit to rest your weight on your bottom with your back straight, for example on a chair:
    • May I sit here?
    • Sit still, will you!
    Sit is usually used with an adverb or prepositional phrase to show where or how somebody sits, but sometimes another phrase or clause is used to show what somebody does while they are sitting: We sat talking for hours.
    sit down/​sit yourself down to move from a standing position to a sitting position:
    • Please sit down.
    • Come in and sit yourselves down.
    be seated (formal) to be sitting:
    • She was seated at the head of the table.
    Be seated is often used as a formal way of inviting somebody to sit down: Please be seated.
    take a seat to sit down Take a seat is used especially as a polite way of inviting somebody to sit down: Please take a seat. perch (rather informal) to sit on something, especially on the edge of something:
    • She perched herself on the edge of the bed.
    Perch is always used with an adverb or prepositional phrase to show where somebody is perching.
    Patterns
    • to sit/​sit down/​be seated/​take a seat/​perch on something
    • to sit/​sit down/​be seated/​take a seat in something
    Extra Examples
    • Please remain seated until your name is called.
    • Ramirez was seated at a table near the window.
    • The old woman was seated in a chair.
    • She seated herself on the sofa.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • comfortably
    preposition
    • at
    • in
    • on
    phrases
    • be seated
    • be seated cross-legged
    • remain seated
    See full entry
  2. of building/vehicle

  3. seat somebody to have enough seats for a particular number of people
    • The aircraft seats 200 passengers.
    • The auditorium can seat an audience of 5 000.
    • The car seats six comfortably.
  4. Word OriginMiddle English (as a noun): from Old Norse sæti, from the Germanic base of sit. The verb dates from the late 16th cent.
See seat in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee seat in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day