What does "sit by" mean?

Take a seat close beside someone. For example: She sat by the patient all night.

sit by

phrasal verb·1 sense·particle by

Meanings

Why “by”? Something stays near another thing.

“She sat by the patient all night.”

She sat close beside the patient all night.

“Omar sat by his daughter during the test.”

Omar sat close beside his daughter during the test.

Don't confuse with

Sit by means take a seat close beside someone. Sit through means stay until the end of something boring or long.

Test yourself

“She sat by the patient all night.” What does it mean?

Nearby in the meaning map

Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.

sit through

A contrast learners often mix up

Stay until the end of something boring or long

come by

Same by pattern: beside

Pay a brief visit to someone

drop by

Same by pattern: beside

Make a brief, casual visit; Make an unplanned brief visit

stand by

Same by pattern: beside

Wait nearby, ready to act if needed; Stay loyal to what you said or promised; Wait, ready to act when needed; Watch without intervening

stay by

Same by pattern: beside

Continue to support or remain near someone

stop by

Same by pattern: beside

Make a brief, often unplanned visit

swing by

Same by pattern: beside

Drop in briefly while passing through; Visit briefly while travelling between places

sit around

Same base verb: sit

Sit somewhere doing nothing useful

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