sit-in

1 of 2

noun

1
2
a
: an act of occupying seats in a racially segregated establishment in organized protest against discrimination
b
: an act of sitting in the seats or on the floor of an establishment as a means of organized protest

sit in

2 of 2

verb

sat in; sitting in; sits in

intransitive verb

1
: to take part in or be present at a session of music or discussion as a visitor
often used with on
invited to sit in on a rehearsal
2
: to participate in a sit-in

Examples of sit-in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The event was organized by Stanford Against Apartheid in Palestine, a group that previously staged a 120-day pro-Palestinian tent sit-in on campus that ended in February when university officials removed the structure and banned overnight camping. Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024 At Western Kentucky University, protesters held a sit-in and march last month. USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024 After firing more than two dozen employees last week following protests against its cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, Google has fired more than 20 additional workers, according to the group that organized the sit-ins. Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024 Just last week, Alphabet’s Google—once known for its open culture—fired 28 workers, nine of whom were arrested for engaging in a sit-in to protest a $1.2 billion joint contract with Amazon for the Israeli government. Chloe Berger, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024 Google has fired 28 employees in the aftermath of a sit-in earlier this week to protest Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract Google shares with Amazon to supply the Israeli government with cloud services. Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024 The protesters called on the school to help drop civil forfeiture charges against five students arrested during a February sit-in. Journal Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2024 The 28 firings come after nine employees were arrested Tuesday night following a sit-in at the company’s offices in Seattle, New York and Sunnyvale, California — including one at Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office, according to the group that organized the demonstration, No Tech for Apartheid. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024 Vanderbilt University last week reportedly expelled three students, suspended another and put 20 more on probation for taking part in a sit-in protest in a school building where students allegedly pushed through security before the protest devolved into arrests. Emma Colton, Fox News, 7 Apr. 2024
Verb
Max Homa , who was sitting in second, was stomping on a bush behind the 12th green, trying to find and grab his ball. Jordan Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 15 Apr. 2024 For the first time in U.S. history, a former president will sit in a courtroom for the first day of his criminal trial. Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 15 Apr. 2024 Game consoles sit in living rooms designed to be comfortable spaces to watch TV. Eric Ravenscraft, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024 In a series of slick videos, Attia—in the hybrid persona of doctor, teacher, and coach—sits in a leather chair and talks about anticipating and averting diseases. Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024 In reality, Pan sat in cafés, taught piano lessons and worked in a restaurant. Christina Coulter, Fox News, 13 Apr. 2024 This isn’t some vehicle that was left abandoned by its owner, no, this is a vehicle being driven by someone sitting in traffic at an intersection waiting on a light to change. Lawrence Hodge / Jalopnik, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024 The next total solar eclipse will not occur in the United States until 2044, when just three states — Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota — are currently predicted to sit in the path of totality. Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024 After gaining promotion to League Two last year, Wrexham is now on track for another jump to League One, as the club sits in one of the automatic promotion spots as the season nears its conclusion. Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 3 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sit-in.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1936, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1936, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sit-in was in 1936

Dictionary Entries Near sit-in

Cite this Entry

“Sit-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sit-in. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

sit-in

noun
ˈsit-ˌin
: an act of sitting in seats or on the floor (as in a restaurant or office) as a means of organized protest

More from Merriam-Webster on sit-in

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