Skip to main content
to have a seat

to have a seat

209 1.0
Please sit down
  • phrasal verb
  • /hæv ə siːt/
translation icon : tomar asiento
  • I said you can have a seat if you want.

So you walk in, have a seat, shake hands all the way.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • All right, why don't we all have a seat now?

  • Go on, have a seat.

  • Everyone and all, please have a seat, folks.

  • Hey, have a seat over there.

  • Have a seat right here.

  • Now pour yourself a cup of coffee and have a seat.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Now, if you'd just have a seat over there in the waiting area...

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Please, have a seat.

  • "Sure, have a seat," said the receptionist as she handed a box of tissues to Jill.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable.

Synonyms

to sit down
vsto have a seat
190 1.0

Help someone into a seat by showing or guiding them

is a polite invitation rather than a direct instruction
to sit
vsto have a seat
47 1.0

To show someone to a seat or place them in one

is a courteous invitation instead of merely assigning a place
to sit one's ass down
vsto have a seat
  • Offensive
11 9.9

To sit down, often said strongly to tell someone to calm down

is a polite invitation rather than a rough vulgar order
to take a pew
vsto have a seat
  • Archaic
1 9.8

To sit down, often on a church seat but also anywhere

is a polite, general invitation rather than an informal British phrase

Antonyms

1.0

To be or put something in an upright position

Surface Forms

have a seat infinitive
had a seat past
had a seat past participle
having a seat present participle
has a seat third person singular

Morphology

have + a + seat

The invitation 'have a seat' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'have' (take/possess) plus 'seat' (a place to sit), which naturally yields the instruction to take a seat or sit down. This is a conventional polite formula but follows transparent compositional logic and has close parallels in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the words will readily understand it.

Etymology

Have a seat comes from the simple scene of a host offering a chair to a guest: the host says have a seat, meaning take the chair to rest. That's why today it is used as a polite way to invite someone 'to sit down'.