noun
picket
PIH-kiht
noun
1
A person or group standing outside a workplace during a strike to protest and discourage others from entering.
"Workers formed a picket outside the factory gates."
"She joined the picket line at dawn."
2
A pointed wooden or metal stake driven into the ground, as in a fence.
"The garden was bordered by a white picket fence."
verb
1
To stand outside a workplace in protest, usually as part of a strike.
"The union picketed the office for a full week."
How to Use Picket
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA protest line outside a workplace during a strike, or a pointed stake used for a fence.
Common pairings
picket line
picket fence
go on picket
Word Forms
picketed past tense, picketted past tense, pickets plural, Pickets plural, pickets singular
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Etymology
From French piquet, from piquer ("to pierce").