picket

Everyday

1. A pointed wooden stake, used in a fence: a «picket fence». tree →
2. (work) A group of workers on strike who stand outside their workplace to protest and ask others not to go in: a «picket line». tree →
3. (verb) To stand outside a place to protest. tree →
4. (old, army) A small group of soldiers on guard. tree →
5. To picket an animal means to tie it to a stake for the night. tree →

In the lessons

In adult-life lessons pickets appear when workers strike for fair pay: «Don't cross the picket line.» In stories and in the USA, a white picket fence stands for a neat family home. Phrases: «picket line», «white picket fence», «cross a picket line», «on the picket line».

Examples

• The house has a white picket fence. tree →
• The nurses stood on the picket line in the cold. tree →
• Workers picketed the factory gates. tree →
• Mum said she would not cross the picket line. tree →
• The picket held signs asking for fair pay. tree →
• One picket in the fence was broken. tree →
• “Yes,” said Two Tails, with a laugh all up his trunk. “I’m picketed for the night. tree →

Note

Countable noun; regular verb (picketed, picketing; one t). «Picket line» is the line of striking workers. Not to be confused with «pickle» or «ticket».