general strike

American  

noun

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

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general strike British  

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

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general strike Cultural  

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.

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Etymology

Origin of general strike

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10

Example Sentences

By some estimates, a nationwide general strike would be enough to hobble the economy in about a week.

From Salon

Charleroi airport has similarly said it will not be able to operate either scheduled departures or arrivals on the day of the general strike - as it also warned passengers of potential disruption on public service networks throughout the strike period.

From BBC

Teachers, medical staff and rubbish collectors will all be joining the rolling industrial action which is set to end in a general strike on Wednesday.

From BBC

The head of Portugal's largest union, CGTP, called the reforms "one of the greatest attacks ever made against workers" in the country and announced a general strike for 11 December.

From BBC

Unemployment was at 10% even before the Depression; there was a general strike in 1926.

From The Wall Street Journal