What does 'sit tight' mean?

What it means: To wait patiently and stay where you are — do not act, move, or make changes yet. It implies the right moment to act hasn't arrived.

"Sit tight — we'll have an answer for you by the end of the day."
"The advice was to sit tight and see how the market moved."

What it implies: Patience is the right strategy right now. Sometimes encouraging, sometimes authoritative. "Sit tight" can be genuinely helpful advice ("don't panic and sell") or it can be used to keep people passive when they want to act.

• "Wait and see" — similar, more open-ended
• "Hold your position" — more military/formal
• "Don't do anything yet" — direct
• "Bide your time" — more strategic, implies waiting for the right moment

Register: Casual to professional.

Tags: idioms, patience, waiting, advice