sit-down

1 of 2

adjective

: served to seated diners
a sit-down dinner
also : of, relating to, or serving sit-down meals
a sit-down restaurant

sit-down

2 of 2

noun

1
: a cessation of work by employees while maintaining continuous occupation of their place of employment as a protest and means toward forcing compliance with demands
2
: a mass obstruction of an activity by sitting down to demonstrate a grievance or to get the activity modified or halted
3
: a meeting held especially to discuss and resolve problems or conflicts

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Ahead of the sit-down dinner and ceremony, guests such as Storm Reid, Christine Quinn, Jurnee Smollett, and Lukas Gage trickled in from the rainy outdoors over an hour or so, greeted inside with Casamigos cocktails, filet mignon canapés, and more. Jamila Stewart, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2023 News in the sit-down, which was recorded on March 15. Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2023 The seven new sit-down restaurants are serving an impressive mix of Italian, Eastern European, Brazilian, French and Mexican food. Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 17 Mar. 2023 There are no plans for a follow-on sit-down conversation. John Hudson, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2023 Unlike his sit-down restaurant in Peoria, the new concept is more casual. Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 16 Mar. 2023 Mobay Cafe is a sit-down restaurant with a patio and bar. Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2023 There are also many talk show interviews, some enlightening and some as brutally uncomfortable as the Susskind sit-down. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2023 Pellicano’s portrait comes into focus through interviews with reporters and victims, archival photographs and footage, audio recordings of his phone calls and eventually a sit-down with the man himself, who was released from prison in 2019. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sit-down.' 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

Adjective

1789, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1868, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of sit-down was in 1789

Dictionary Entries Near sit-down

Cite this Entry

“Sit-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sit-down. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.

Kids Definition

sit-down

noun
ˈsit-ˌdau̇n
: a strike in which the workers stop work and refuse to leave their places of employment

called also sit-down strike

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