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Glite Dictionary
to sit on your ideas

to sit on your ideas

7.1
To keep your ideas without sharing or using them
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : guardar tus ideas
  • She regretted sitting on her ideas instead of presenting them to the team.

Examples

  • Don't sit on your ideas any longer!

  • It's unproductive to sit on your ideas when innovation is encouraged.

  • If you just sit on your ideas, you'll miss out on valuable feedback.

  • Sarah tends to sit on her ideas instead of sharing them.

  • If you continue to sit on your ideas, you might miss great opportunities to innovate.

  • It's better to share your thoughts than to sit on your ideas and let them go to waste.

  • Many employees fear that if they sit on their ideas, they will never be recognized for their contributions.

Synonyms

to hold back
vsto sit on your ideas
16 3.5

Wait before doing something because you feel unsure

keeps things to oneself and delays telling others or acting
to bench this idea
vsto sit on your ideas
  • US
7.6

Delay talking about an idea until later

keeps thoughts private instead of telling others about them
to keep ideas fallow
vsto sit on your ideas
8.6

To leave ideas unused for a while so they can grow and be used later

delays sharing but often without aiming to let them mature

Antonyms

to share
711 1.0

To tell someone about your thoughts, feelings or experiences

to act on
145 3.2

Do something after you get information, advice, or a request

How Willing

to propose
∞ 3.0
to share
711 1.0
to sit on your ideas
  • Informal
7.1
to hold back
108 4.2

Surface Forms

sit on your ideas infinitive
sat on your ideas past
sat on your ideas past participle
sitting on your ideas present participle
sits on your ideas third person singular

Morphology

sit + on + your + idea

The meaning 'to delay sharing or acting on your ideas' is a metaphorical extension of the literal components — 'sit on' evokes keeping something down or holding it back — so there is a visible link to the constituent meanings. However, the specific pragmatic sense of withholding/postponing an idea is not fully predictable from the words alone and would often require prior exposure, so a B1 learner would only sometimes infer it.

Etymology

Sit on your ideas may come from the picture of someone literally sitting on a box or papers that hold their ideas, so the ideas are kept down and hidden, and sitting on them stops them from coming out. So it means 'to delay sharing or acting on your ideas'.