to sit up
47
1.8
- phrasal verb
- /sɪt ʌp/
:
quedarse despierto
- "Thanks," I said, and sat up, realizing how happy I was to see him.
- sit up at night
- sit up late
- sit up watching
In the old days, I used to sit up late till an owl appeared.
- In the old days, I used to sit up late till an owl appeared.
- You mean to tell me that these niggas are sitting up late at night making fruity pebbles rice crispy treats with THC in them?
- How many people sit up on the oats and barley and they're looking at the clock and they're thinking, I'll stop at midnight.
Examples
-
And I sat up all night.
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In the old days, I used to sit up late till an owl appeared.
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I was sure it was Dad, so I just sat up and I listened for him.
-
Well, he's gotta sit up all night in his car.
-
And don't sit up too late.
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I'm afraid she sat up all night while I slept.
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I sat up till after midnight studying The Roman Ritual... ...thinking about what lay ahead.
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Emma wondered what it would be like to sit up all night, talking, laughing, listening to music.
Fiction book (1990) -
You ought to sit up or you'll start feeling ill again.
-
I decided to sit up late to finish my project before the deadline.
Synonyms
253
2.4
To be awake later than usual
Antonyms
How Awake
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to move from a lying or leaning position to an upright sitting position' is directly and transparently composed from 'sit' (to be seated) and 'up' (toward a higher position). This verb+particle motion/resultative pattern is common in English and cross‑linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The verb sit up comes from the simple picture of someone in bed choosing to sit up instead of lying down to sleep; they sit up to read, work, or wait, so they stay awake. So sit up means 'stay awake' and not go to bed.