1
: a pointed or sharpened stake, post, or pale
2
a
: a detached body of soldiers serving to guard an army from surprise
b
: a detachment kept ready in camp for such duty
c
: sentry
3
a
: a person posted by a labor organization at a place of work affected by a strike
… dispossessed theatergoers shared the sidewalks with grim pickets yesterday as the stagehands' strike shut down most of Broadway's plays and musicals.—
Robert D. McFadden
Robert D. McFadden
also
: a person posted for a demonstration or protest
In front of the White House pickets are marching … —Lady Bird Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
b
: a protest or strike involving pickets
In such situations, the union often pickets the plant as well, but it is strictly an informational picket publicizing the nature of the controversy …—Matthew A. Kelly
Matthew A. Kelly
picketed; picketing; pickets
1
: to enclose, fence, or fortify with pickets
2
a
: to guard with a picket
b
: to post as a picket
3
: tether
4
a
: to post pickets at
b
: to walk or stand in front of as a picket
: to serve as a picket
picketer
noun
Synonyms
Examples of picket in a Sentence
Noun
a house surrounded by a white picket fence
Pickets marched in front of the company headquarters.
The strikers held picket signs painted with angry slogans.
The students were barred from holding a picket outside the company's headquarters.
Verb
Workers picketed outside the grocery store.
The union is picketing the factory.
Recent Examples on the WebMaraya King, Twin Cities, 10 Jan. 2024
The Friday picket focused on actors who play first responders on screen, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics, ER doctors, and animal rescue workers.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 8 Oct. 2023
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Transportation Workers Union and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants co-organized the informational picket.
—Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 15 Feb. 2024
The higher fence also has wider and stronger pickets.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2024
Business Amid union’s tentative deals with more hotels, workers plan Rose Parade day pickets
Dec. 22, 2023
Advertisement
Aside from the theme, participating in the Rose Parade reminds McDonald, who was raised in Fresno, of memories of her late father.
—Angie Orellana Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2023
Union members have also held pickets in front of MGM and Caesars properties.
—Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2023
Steve Maller prepares picket signs today at the Portland, Oregon, airport.
—Chris Isidore, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
At long last, actors will be putting down their picket signs and picking up their scripts once again.
—EW.com, 8 Nov. 2023
Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
Hard to tell if any of the striking actors shown in the footage were picketing in front of Netflix headquarters.
—Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024
Workers repeatedly went on strike, picketed and later returned to work.
—John Antczak, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2024
The strike saw two weeks of KTP workers picketing at Ford's most profitable facility where the Super Duty trucks are made.
—The Courier-Journal, 21 Feb. 2024
The union did not plan to picket the Parade itself and planned to continue to strike Monday at the two hotels, according to the Times.
—USA TODAY, 1 Jan. 2024
And until this weekend, when the Beverly Hilton sealed a new contract with its workers’ union United Here Local 11, there was a chance the Globes would be picketed.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 11 Dec. 2023
With the enthusiastic support of his white co-workers, Weber welcomed the national spotlight – until David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan showed up in white robes to picket the Kaiser Aluminum plant.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2024
The unions planned to picket at some of the nation’s busiest airports in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and elsewhere.
—David Koenig, Quartz, 13 Feb. 2024
Noun
The airline, based in Minneapolis, said there were no disruptions to flights from Wednesday’s informational picket and noted the action does not mean a strike will happen in the future.
—Maraya King, Twin Cities, 10 Jan. 2024
The Friday picket focused on actors who play first responders on screen, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics, ER doctors, and animal rescue workers.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 8 Oct. 2023
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Transportation Workers Union and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants co-organized the informational picket.
—Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 15 Feb. 2024
The higher fence also has wider and stronger pickets.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2024
Business Amid union’s tentative deals with more hotels, workers plan Rose Parade day pickets
Dec. 22, 2023
Advertisement
Aside from the theme, participating in the Rose Parade reminds McDonald, who was raised in Fresno, of memories of her late father.
—Angie Orellana Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2023
Union members have also held pickets in front of MGM and Caesars properties.
—Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2023
Steve Maller prepares picket signs today at the Portland, Oregon, airport.
—Chris Isidore, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
At long last, actors will be putting down their picket signs and picking up their scripts once again.
—EW.com, 8 Nov. 2023
Verb
Since that day three years ago, these defendants — 36 from Missouri and 10 from Kansas — have been charged for their roles in the Capitol attack, their offenses ranging from misdemeanor counts of demonstrating or picketing to felonies that include assaulting officers and civil disorder.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
Hard to tell if any of the striking actors shown in the footage were picketing in front of Netflix headquarters.
—Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024
Workers repeatedly went on strike, picketed and later returned to work.
—John Antczak, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2024
The strike saw two weeks of KTP workers picketing at Ford's most profitable facility where the Super Duty trucks are made.
—The Courier-Journal, 21 Feb. 2024
The union did not plan to picket the Parade itself and planned to continue to strike Monday at the two hotels, according to the Times.
—USA TODAY, 1 Jan. 2024
And until this weekend, when the Beverly Hilton sealed a new contract with its workers’ union United Here Local 11, there was a chance the Globes would be picketed.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 11 Dec. 2023
With the enthusiastic support of his white co-workers, Weber welcomed the national spotlight – until David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan showed up in white robes to picket the Kaiser Aluminum plant.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2024
The unions planned to picket at some of the nation’s busiest airports in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and elsewhere.
—David Koenig, Quartz, 13 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'picket.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to picket
Dictionary Entries Near picket
Cite this Entry
“Picket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/picket. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
picket
1 of 2 noun
pick·et
ˈpik-ət 
1
: a pointed stake or post (as for a fence)
2
: a soldier or a group of soldiers assigned to stand guard
3
: a person (as a striking worker or a demonstrator) on a picket line
picket
2 of 2 verb1
: to enclose, fence, or strengthen with pickets
2
a
: to guard with a picket
b
: to station as a picket
3
: tether entry 2
picket a horse
4
a
: to station pickets or act as a picket at
picket a factory
b
: to serve as a picket
picketer
noun
Legal Definition
picket
1 of 2 noun
pick·et
: a person posted by a labor organization at a place of employment affected by a labor dispute
broadly
: a person posted for a demonstration or protest
picket
2 of 2 transitive verb
: to post pickets in front of : walk or stand in front of as a picket
their tactics have included picketing clinics—L. H. Tribe
L. H. Tribe
: to demonstrate by use of pickets
a currently certified union may picket for recognition
also
: to serve as a picket see also informational picketing, organizational picketing, secondary picketing compare strike
Note: While the right to peacefully picket for a lawful purpose is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, case law has recognized some limitations and the Labor Management Relations Act has placed some restrictions on organizational and secondary picketing.
picketer
noun
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