What does "picket" mean?
A stake driven into the ground.
Picket
/ˈpɪkɪt/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A stake driven into the ground.
- Grammar: picket is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: watch, advance guard, airplane spotter, anchor.
- Useful contrasts: blackleg, disband, gap.
- Usage evidence: I doubt that Tom has the courage to cross the picket line.
How to use "picket"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "picket" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "picket" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "picket" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "picket" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "picket" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "watch" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "picket", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A stake driven into the ground. countable, uncountable
"a picket fence"
- 2 a form of military punishment used by the British in the late 17th century in which a soldier was forced to stand on one foot on a pointed stake wordnet
- 3 A type of punishment by which an offender had to rest his or her entire body weight on the top of a small stake. countable, historical, uncountable
- 4 a wooden strip forming part of a fence wordnet
- 5 A tool in mountaineering that is driven into the snow and used as an anchor or to arrest falls. countable, uncountable
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a vehicle performing sentinel duty wordnet
- 7 One of the soldiers or troops placed on a line forward of a position to warn against an enemy advance; or any unit (for example, an aircraft or ship) performing a similar function. countable, uncountable
"So confident was he that he ignored the warning of his two British advisers to post pickets to watch the river, and even withdrew those they had placed there."
- 8 a detachment of troops guarding an army from surprise attack wordnet
- 9 A sentry. countable, figuratively, sometimes, uncountable
"Maccario, it was evident, did not care to take the risk of blundering upon a picket, and a man led them by twisting paths until at last the hacienda rose blackly before them."
- 10 a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event wordnet
- 11 A protester positioned outside an office, workplace etc. during a strike (usually in plural); also the protest itself. countable, uncountable
"Pickets normally endeavor to be non-violent."
- 12 a protester posted by a labor organization outside a place of work wordnet
- 13 The card game piquet. uncountable
Verb
- 1 To protest, organized by a labour union, typically in front of the location of employment. intransitive
- 2 fasten with a picket wordnet
- 3 To enclose or fortify with pickets or pointed stakes. transitive
"One of the most striking was the silver pin presented to all members of the National Women’s Party who served time for picketting the White House for women’s suffrage."
- 4 serve as pickets or post pickets wordnet
- 5 To tether to, or as if to, a picket. transitive
"to picket a horse"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To guard, as a camp or road, by an outlying picket. transitive
- 7 To torture by forcing to stand with one foot on a pointed stake. obsolete, transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"I doubt that Tom has the courage to cross the picket line."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "picket"?
Common synonyms include: watch, advance guard, airplane spotter, anchor, argus, armed guard.
How do you use "picket" in a sentence?
I doubt that Tom has the courage to cross the picket line.
How do you pronounce "picket"?
Pronounced /ˈpɪkɪt/.
Etymology
From French piquet, from piquer (“to pierce”).