picketing
Americanadjective
-
standing or marching, usually while holding a placard or sign, in front of a workplace, embassy, etc., as during a strike or demonstration.
Local people have dropped off food supplies and newspapers for the picketing workers outside the plant.
-
Military, Navy, Air Force. acting as a guard in front of other troops or vessels to warn against an enemy advance.
The enemy made us defend every inch, and it wasn’t long before our picketing troops ahead were engaged.
The British squadrons had been weakened by the ambush on their picketing submarines.
noun
Etymology
Origin of picketing
First recorded in 1830–40; picket ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; picket ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun sense
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Richard Scandaliato, president of San Pedro’s South Shores Community Assn., said the reversal was “unbelievable” after months of near-weekly picketing and hundreds of letters that neighbors wrote to state officials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The law states that it does not “prohibit any expressive conduct including peaceful picketing or other peaceful demonstration.”
From Salon ● Jan. 20, 2026
Ministers really didn't want to do that with NHS staff picketing outside the parliament.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
The picketing machinists benefited from a strike fund while they were off the job but were under increasing pressure as healthcare coverage lapsed for some families.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
The suffragists’ picketing of the White House began on January 11, 1917.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
