Advertisement

View synonyms for

picket

[ pik-it ]

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

/ ˈɪɪ /

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. Alsopicquet a small detachment of troops or warships positioned towards the enemy to give early warning of attack
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈ辱ٱ, noun
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • 辱·· noun
  • dzܲ·ٱ·辱· noun verb
  • ܲ·辱·· adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of picket1

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of picket1

C18: from French piquet, from Old French piquer to prick; see pike ²
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Tens of thousands of Los Angeles County workers walked off their jobs and onto picket lines Tuesday, amid what their union described as a failure by the county to fairly bargain for a new contract.

From

Because Lam was a no-show, protesters picketed outside his restaurant for 73 days.

From

It has represented a major clear-up operation since the police tactics changed on the picket line and the behind-the-scenes interventions by the government.

From

Despite the obvious danger, we continued picketing and singing.

From

Goranson: In a Connerian way — is that a new term? — no one’s getting the white picket fence in the suburbs unless it’s way in the suburbs.

From

Advertisement

Related Words

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


picker-upperpicket boat