picket line
nounUK /ˈpɪkɪt laɪn/ · US /ˈpɪkɪt ˌlaɪn/
Etymology From picket (“stake driven into the ground; soldier or small unit of soldiers assigned to perform a duty; protester positioned outside a workplace, etc., during a strike; the protest itself”) + line.
1
Rare A line or rope held by one or many pickets, chiefly one used for tethering horses.
2
Government, Military, Politics, War Rare A barrier or fortification formed by pickets; a stockade.
3
Government, Military, Politics, War A boundary guarded by a picket (unit of soldiers).
4
A boundary created by workers participating in a strike, generally at the workplace entrance, which other workers are asked not to pass.
- RMT union members form a picket line outside Birmingham New Street on July 27, as part of a national dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.2022 August 10, “Network News: RMT's Lynch raises the prospect of a General Strike”, in RAIL, number 963, page 7, photo caption: