picket line

American  

noun

1. a line of strikers or other demonstrators serving as pickets.

---

picket line British  

noun

1. a line of people acting as pickets

---

Etymology

Origin of picket line

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

WGA West staffers also played a key role in the strike as they, too, joined the picket lines.

From Los Angeles Times

Teachers took to picket lines despite last-minute pleas from San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and prominent lawmakers, including U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

Some 4,200 nurses on strike at New York-Presbyterian are not covered by the deal and will stay on the picket line.

From Barron's

“Old circus joke. Can’t help ourselves. On the show, people ask that question a thousand times a day. Elephants are chained to a picket line so they don’t run off — or whack somebody.”

From Literature

In recent years, strikes by Hollywood writers and actors, healthcare staffers and auto workers put thousands on picket lines.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• parade
• protest
• sit-in
• strike
• walkout