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Glite Dictionary
sit-in

sit-in

16 4.9
A protest where people sit in a place and refuse to leave
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪtˌɪn/
translation icon : sentada
  • Moore: After six days of the sit-in Bank of America decided enough was enough.

And one of those was a sit in, stand out of a chair.

Examples

  • Yesterday, students organized a sit-in at the local library to protest against budget cuts.

  • Narrator 2: Day after day, the sit-ins continue without violence.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • We'll stay here anyway and have our sit-in.

    Steaming (1985)

  • As a result, Khan announced the end of the sit-in in Islamabad.

    Academic text (2018)

  • MB: Why did you decide to conduct a sit-in inside the Red Cross headquarters?

    Blog text (31)

  • Narrator 2: The sit-ins spread across the South like wildfire, but not in Mississippi.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The Atlanta sit-in crisis of 1961 provides further evidence of the sociopolitical differences in the black community.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Part of the protesters decided upon a sit-in (itisam) and declared their intention to stay through the night.

    Academic text (2018)

  • I remember there were some sit-ins and stuff on some college campuses about divesting endowments, etc.

    Blog text (21)

  • Meanwhile, across the hall from the hearings, demonstrators were protesting his nomination by staging a sit-in inside Mr. Sessions' office.

    Academic text (2017)

Synonyms

sit-down strike
vssit-in
3 4.4

Workers stay at their workplace and refuse to work until demands are met

is used for any occupied protest in places beyond workplaces
sit-down
vssit-in
  • Archaic
2 6.4

Workers who stay in their workplace and refuse to leave until the employer meets their demands

is broader and applies to occupations of any public or private place
sleep-in
vssit-in
5.6

An organized event where people stay overnight to protest and ask for change

focuses on continuing occupation until demands are considered or met
lie-in
vssit-in
  • UK
7.4

A public protest where people lie down to block access or draw attention

involves occupying and refusing to leave until demands are considered or met

Antonyms

to leave
∞ 1.0

To go away from a place, person, or group

to disperse
104 4.4

To cause people and things, like a crowd or fog, to spread over a wide area

How Disruptive

occupation
1 4.6
sit-in
16 4.9
rally
384 3.8
demonstration
272 3.2
to petition
  • Formal
61 3.5

Surface Forms

sit-in singular
sit-ins plural

Morphology

sit-in = sit + in (semi-transparent) = sit + in

The literal idea of sitting in a place is clear, but the conventional meaning of an organized protest occupation is more specific than the parts alone predict.

Etymology

The word sit-in comes from the simple parts sit ('to sit') and in ('inside'). It became famous in the 1960s when people sat inside shops and public places and refused to leave to demand change, so a sit-in today means occupying a place as a form of protest.