kiss-in

noun

A peaceful form of protest in which people kiss in a public place; especially, a protest with same-gender kissing by LGBTQ people to demonstrate their sexual orientation, protest homophobia, etc.

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Meanings

nounkiss-in (plural kiss-ins)

plural kiss-ins

  1. A peaceful form of protest in which people kiss in a public place; especially, a protest with same-gender kissing by LGBTQ people to demonstrate their sexual orientation, protest homophobia, etc.

    A group of lesbians from Siberia staged an impromptu kiss-in in Moscow, to which traffic police responded by calling in 800 back-ups.

    1991 August 24, Dawn Schmitz, “USSR Pride Draws 20,000—To Organizers' Surprise”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 6, page 2

Origin

From kiss + -in, modelled on sit-in, etc.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

kiss-in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kiss-in

MLA

“kiss-in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kiss-in. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kiss-in,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kiss-in.

Source: kiss-in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.