picket
a post, stake, pale, or peg that is used in a fence or barrier, to fasten down a tent, etc.
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.
a person engaged in any similar demonstration, as against a government's policies or actions, before an embassy, office building, construction project, etc.
Military. a soldier or detachment of soldiers placed on a line forward of a position to warn against an enemy advance.
Navy, Air Force. an aircraft or ship performing similar sentinel duty.
to enclose within a picket fence or stockade, as for protection, imprisonment, etc.: to picket a lawn; to picket captives.
to fasten or tether to a picket.
to place pickets in front of or around (a factory, store, mine, embassy, etc.), as during a strike or demonstration.
Military.
to guard, as with pickets.
to post as a picket.
to stand or march as a picket.
Origin of picket
1Other words from picket
- pick·et·er, noun
- coun·ter·pick·et, noun, verb
- un·pick·et·ed, adjective
Words Nearby picket
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use picket in a sentence
The union created a pledge that readers can sign to say they will “not cross the picket line.”
NYT’s Wirecutter union threatens to walk during its busiest time of year if a new contract isn’t signed | Sara Guaglione | November 10, 2021 | DigidayBSO balked at that addition, explaining that signing the document would violate the contracts it has with its own unions and that it couldn’t ask its unionized workers to cross a picket line.
How a dispute with a handful of Strathmore ticket-sellers led to impasse with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, canceled concerts | Peggy McGlone | November 5, 2021 | Washington PostIn the meantime, workers remain on picket lines in multiple states.
John Deere workers reject contract, which company calls ‘our best and final offer’ | Aaron Gregg | November 4, 2021 | Washington PostGroups like the San Francisco Parent Coalition have sprung up since last summer to help organize protests and picket school board meetings as a way to press for policy changes.
Undeterred, they regrouped in the baggage area, then went to Target to get supplies to make picket signs.
Hourly Workers Are Demanding Better Pay and Benefits—and Getting Them | Alana Semuels | July 22, 2021 | Time
Strandf could photograph anything from a blind woman to a picket fence and make the image indelible.
A bar chart showing quarterly GDP growth resembles the teeth of a saw, not a picket fence.
The U.S. Economy Had a Hiccup, Not a Heart Attack, This Year | Daniel Gross | May 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAfter the march, the political convoy of picket-signs makes its way to a grandiose fast-food joint for pizza and beer.
The one we parked in front of had an Astroturf lawn and white picket fence.
She leapt over the brand-new white picket fence we built for her in a single bound.
Many of them were wounded and the worst of these were put into a picket boat which had just that moment come along.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonHicks was puttering around the fire, evidently cooking supper, and Gregory was moving the picket rope of his horse to fresh grass.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairIt was therefore deemed advisable to picket the horses close to the tent, between it and the fire.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. BallantyneLeft on a picket boat with Birdie to board my destroyer to an accompaniment of various denominations of projectiles.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonWithout warning, we found ourselves foul of a picket-line, and the vague forms of grazing horses loomed close by.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
British Dictionary definitions for picket
/ (ˈpɪkɪt) /
a pointed stake, post, or peg that is driven into the ground to support a fence, provide a marker for surveying, etc
an individual or group that stands outside an establishment to make a protest, to dissuade or prevent employees or clients from entering, etc
Also: picquet a small detachment of troops or warships positioned towards the enemy to give early warning of attack
to post or serve as pickets at (a factory, embassy, etc): let's go and picket the shop
to guard (a main body or place) by using or acting as a picket
(tr) to fasten (a horse or other animal) to a picket
(tr) to fence (an area, boundary, etc) with pickets
Origin of picket
1Derived forms of picket
- picketer, noun
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
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