picket line

American  

noun

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

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picket line British  

noun

1. a line of people acting as pickets

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Etymology

Origin of picket line

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Staff began a nine-day strike last Wednesday, and are currently at the picket lines until Friday, with a further strike taking place from 26-29 January.

From BBC

Exhibit A is the nurses union strike in New York City, which Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined in solidarity from the picket lines on Monday.

From The Wall Street Journal

At the end of November, striking workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette returned to their desks after more than three years on the picket line.

From MarketWatch

Last month, Unite also claimed managers had threatened agency workers with being banned from jobs or blacklisted if they refused to cross picket lines.

From BBC

Unite claimed a growing number of agency staff were refusing to cross the picket lines of striking bin workers due to "unsustainable workloads" and a bullying workplace culture at the council's refuse department.

From BBC

Related Words

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