/ ˈpɪkɪt; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a person or group of people who stand outside the entrance to a building in order to protest about sth, especially in order to stop people from entering a factory, etc. during a strike; an occasion at which this happens :
Five pickets were arrested by police.
I was on picket duty at the time.
a mass picket of the factory
—see also flying picket , picketer
2.
a soldier or group of soldiers guarding a military base
3.
a pointed piece of wood that is fixed in the ground, especially as part of a fence :
a picket fence
—picture at house
■ verb
to stand outside somewhere such as your place of work to protest about sth or to try and persuade people to join a strike :
[ vn ]
200 workers were picketing the factory.
[ v ]
Striking workers picketed outside the gates.
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WORD ORIGIN
late 17th cent. (denoting a pointed stake, on which a soldier was required to stand on one foot as a military punishment): from French piquet pointed stake, from piquer to prick, from pic pike.