Word
Of
The
Day
sedentary
sedentary \SED-un-tair-ee\
adjective
Something described as sedentary does or involves a lot of sitting.
Sedentary can also mean "not physically active" (as in "a sedentary lifestyle") or "not migratory" (as in "sedentary birds" or "a sedentary civilization").
// Editing the dictionary is a
sedentary job.
See the entry >
Examples:
"From open offices to home workstations, employees across industries invested in sit-stand setups with the hope of counteracting
sedentary lifestyles." — Michelle Stansbury,
Forbes, 25 Aug. 2025
Did you know?
Sedentary comes from the Latin verb
sedēre, meaning "to sit." Other descendants of
sedēre include
dissident,
insidious,
preside,
reside, and
subsidy.
Sedēre is also the base of the rare
sedens, a noun that refers to a person who remains a resident of the place or region of their birth.