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.

---

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

---

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. )

Example Sentences

Monday's bin collections have been called off as agency workers joined refuse strikers on picket lines in Birmingham amid a separate dispute.

From BBC

‘Gen Z would rather invest in index funds and travel the world than tie themselves to a 30-year mortgage and a picket fence.’

From MarketWatch

While emphasizing that the fight was not over, the union representing Paris’ trash collectors admitted that they had run out of manpower on the picket line.

From Washington Times

For their Noah’s Ark, Bob and Sheryl chose an old farmhouse with a white picket fence in a small New Jersey town.

From New York Times

Think detached houses with yards, driveways and picket fences.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• blockade
• boycott
• demonstrate
• protest
• walk out