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• sit-down
  sit-down

  adjective

  done or accomplished while sitting down.
• sit down
  sit down

  verb

  to adopt or cause (oneself or another) to adopt a sitting posture

sit-down

American  

[sit-doun] / ˈsɪtˌdaʊn /

adjective

1. done or accomplished while sitting down.

   sit-down meetings between the two party leaders.

2. (of a meal or food) served to or intended for persons seated at a table.

   a sit-down dinner.

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noun

sit-downs plural

1. Informal. a period or instance of sitting, as to relax, talk, or the like.

   They had a profitable sit-down together.

2. sit-down strike.

3. a protest demonstration whereby participants refuse to move from a public place.

4. Informal. a meal, especially a dinner, served to persons who are seated at a table.

sit down British  

verb

1. to adopt or cause (oneself or another) to adopt a sitting posture

2. to suffer (insults, etc) without protests or resistance

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noun

1. a form of civil disobedience in which demonstrators sit down in a public place as a protest or to draw attention to a cause

2. See sit-down strike

adjective

1. (of a meal, etc) eaten while sitting down at a table

sit down Idioms  

1. Take a seat, as in Won't you sit down? I won't be long . [c. 1200]

2. sit down to . Prepare to eat a meal, as in At six we all sat down to dinner . [Late 1500s]

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sit-downs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sit-down

First recorded in 1830–40; adj. and noun use of verb phrase sit down

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sit-down sit down sit-downs

But this tour felt like his first "real piece", he told the BBC in a sit-down interview the day after the show.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

The defining moment in Victor Marx’s surreal quest to be Colorado’s governor came a few weeks ago, during a rare sit-down interview with a journalist.

From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026

Plus, a sit-down interview with Jill Biden about her latest book and a retreat where a group of heirs learns the secrets to staying rich.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Founded in 1942, Duran originally had a soda fountain that converted to a sit-down restaurant in the 1960s.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026

So maybe that’s what this was—not a community meeting, but a friendly sit-down.

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee

“It was a long, raw emotional sit down with him,” Prior said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

While there wasn't a sit down dinner, the food was "unlimited".

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

So they created interview segments where she would sit down with guests and talk to them in a more personal way, these fireside chats.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

“Reading this book, you feel like, ‘If I just sit down with my neighbor and talk to them, I can effect change,’ and that’s a very powerful message.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

“Wash your hands, wipe your feet, give me a kiss, sit down and eat.”

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

But what gives them their current salience—besides cozy sit-downs with the nation’s top media celebrity—is their claim, a plausible one, to be speaking for others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025

Planned for this week are solo sit-downs with Howard Stern, Stephen Colbert and the panel of “The View.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2024

“Win the nomination, pick your nominee, lay out your economic plan, do your convention and now do some sit-downs and amplify that.”

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2024

She mentioned one of his big legacy-media sit-downs, an interview with George Stephanopoulos, seemingly just to establish that Bankman-Fried was making the rounds and talking a lot.

From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2023

I could escape the stage-managed multilateral meetings and sit-downs with leaders and find new ways to bring a little extra warmth to those otherwise staid visits.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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