1. An organized protest demonstration in which participants seat themselves in an appropriate place and refuse to move.
2. The act of occupying the seats or an area of a segregated establishment to protest racial discrimination.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.