general strike

noun

1. a mass strike in all or many trades and industries in a section or in all parts of a country.

general strike

noun

1. a strike by all or most of the workers of a country, province, city, etc, esp ( caps. ) such a strike that took place in Britain in 1926

general strike

1. A strike of all of the workers in a nation or area. General strikes are usually brief and designed to show the unity of the working class.

Word History and Origins

Origin of general strike¹

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10

Example Sentences

“If there’s a bad faith invocation of the Insurrection Act to send federal troops to go beat up anti-ICE protesters, there should be a general strike in the United States,” Carroll said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The fresh rally came after the Gen Z movement called for a general strike and rejected President Andry Rajoelina's attempts to defuse the tensions rocking the Indian Ocean island.

Read more on Barron's

But this mass mobilization—as seen with Italy’s general strike on Friday—is driven above all by broad anger at the treatment of Palestinians and Western governments’ support for Israel, said Nathalie Tocci, director of the Institute of International Affairs in Rome and a former senior foreign-policy adviser at the European Commission.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Workers in Italy joined a general strike on Friday, not for better pay or conditions, but in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Read more on BBC

Italy's hard-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised the general strike, arguing that it would not advance the Palestinian cause and only hinder Italian people trying to go about their lives.

Read more on BBC