sit-down

1 of 2

adjective

ˈsit-ˈdau̇n 

: 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

ˈsit-ˌdau̇n 

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

Examples of sit-down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Gayle King and Keke Palmer smile for the camera ahead of their sit-down chat at Hearst Magazines' 3rd Annual Women's Health Lab on May 18 in New York City. —People Staff, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026

Jeffries hosts a weekly sit-down, called the Crescendo Meeting, with the heads of nearly a dozen Democratic sub-caucuses, from the Blue Dogs and the progressives to the Black, Hispanic, Asian Pacific American, and women’s caucuses. —Jason Zengerle, New Yorker, 18 May 2026

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

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1789, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1868, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for sit-down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

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