picket

Universal Words 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. * We are organizing a mass picket of the abortion clinic. seealsoFLYINGPICKET, PICKETER 2 a soldier or group of soldiers guarding a military base 3 a piece of wood that is pointed at the bottom so that it can be fixed in the ground, especially as part of a fence: a picket fence 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.