picket

American  

[pik-it] / ˈpɪk ɪt /

noun

1. a post, stake, pale, or peg that is used in a fence or barrier, to fasten down a tent, etc.

2. a person stationed by a union or the like outside a factory, store, mine, etc., in order to dissuade or prevent workers or customers from entering it during a strike.

3. a person engaged in any similar demonstration, as against a government's policies or actions, before an embassy, office building, construction project, etc.

4. Military. a soldier or detachment of soldiers placed on a line forward of a position to warn against an enemy advance.

5. Navy, Air Force. an aircraft or ship performing similar sentinel duty.

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verb (used with object)

1. to enclose within a picket fence or stockade, as for protection, imprisonment, etc..

   to picket a lawn; to picket captives.

2. to fasten or tether to a picket.

3. to place pickets in front of or around (a factory, store, mine, embassy, etc.), as during a strike or demonstration.

4. Military.

   1. to guard, as with pickets.

   2. to post as a picket.

verb (used without object)

1. to stand or march as a picket.

picket British  

/ ˈpɪkɪt /

noun

1. a pointed stake, post, or peg that is driven into the ground to support a fence, provide a marker for surveying, etc

2. an individual or group that stands outside an establishment to make a protest, to dissuade or prevent employees or clients from entering, etc

3. Also: picquet.  a small detachment of troops or warships positioned towards the enemy to give early warning of attack

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verb

1. to post or serve as pickets at (a factory, embassy, etc)

   let's go and picket the shop

2. to guard (a main body or place) by using or acting as a picket

3. (tr) to fasten (a horse or other animal) to a picket

4. (tr) to fence (an area, boundary, etc) with pickets

Other Word Forms

• counterpicket
  noun
• picketer
  noun
• unpicketed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of picket

First recorded in 1680–90; from French piquet, equivalent to pike ² + -et ( def. )

Explanation

A picket is a vertical wooden board in a fence. You might have a white picket fence enclosing your whole front yard, so your little dog can't escape. Besides the "wooden stake or strip" meaning, you can also use picket as a verb to mean "protest or strike." When disgruntled workers go on strike, they often picket outside their workplace, holding signs and chanting. You can also call one of these protesting workers a picket. The original meaning, from the 1680s, is "a pointed stake used as a defensive weapon." And the original picket line was a line of military troops.

Example Sentences

Picket lines could greet customers collecting their morning latte at some US stores on Thursday, as the company faces another strike by unionised baristas, calling for better pay and increased staffing.

From BBC • Nov. 11, 2025

About 1,200 fire personnel are currently assigned to the Picket fire, according to Cal Fire.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 23, 2025

As Variety, the entertainment trade magazine, put it in a July 24 headline, “Why Haven’t A-List Stars Joined the SAG-AFTRA Picket Line?”

From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2023

Another contributor says she was inspired to send images to Malenkiy Picket because she says her images can last longer than the street protests, which were broken up by the police long ago.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 27, 2023

Picket lines of black high school and college students marched in front of downtown movie theaters for several years.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• blockade
• boycott
• demonstrate
• protest
• walk out