sit-in

1 of 2

noun

ˈsit-ˌin 

1

: sit-down sense 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

That morning, a group of protesters arrived outside his house and staged a sit-in. —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025

And Steam Cafe is the in-house coffee shop pouring Cloud Picker Coffee for sit-in and takeaway. —Liam Hess, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2025

Verb

In a lengthy blog post, Vinod Khosla, the billionaire cofounder of Sun Microsystems and an early investor in companies like Amazon, Google, and OpenAI, echoed that the key to unlocking Musk’s utopian future sits in the hands of governments. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2025

Five snowmen, built overnight and in the morning, sat in random locations; one, shaped like a cat, had the labels of Bigelow tea bags for eyes. —Karan Mahajan, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1936, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1936, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sit-in

• akin
• auxin
• buckskin
• chagrin
• deerskin
• foreskin
• fuchsin
• herein
• kingpin
• linchpin
• pigskin
• pinyin

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