Picket
['pɪkɪt]
Definition
(noun.) 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.
(noun.) a wooden strip forming part of a fence.
(noun.) a vehicle performing sentinel duty.
(noun.) a detachment of troops guarding an army from surprise attack.
(noun.) a protester posted by a labor organization outside a place of work.
(verb.) fasten with a picket; 'picket the goat'.
(verb.) serve as pickets or post pickets; 'picket a business to protest the layoffs'.
Checked by Alissa--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A stake sharpened or pointed, especially one used in fortification and encampments, to mark bounds and angles; or one used for tethering horses.
(n.) A pointed pale, used in marking fences.
(n.) A detached body of troops serving to guard an army from surprise, and to oppose reconnoitering parties of the enemy; -- called also outlying picket.
(n.) By extension, men appointed by a trades union, or other labor organization, to intercept outsiders, and prevent them from working for employers with whom the organization is at variance.
(n.) A military punishment, formerly resorted to, in which the offender was forced to stand with one foot on a pointed stake.
(n.) A game at cards. See Piquet.
(v. t.) To fortify with pointed stakes.
(v. t.) To inclose or fence with pickets or pales.
(v. t.) To tether to, or as to, a picket; as, to picket a horse.
(v. t.) To guard, as a camp or road, by an outlying picket.
(v. t.) To torture by compelling to stand with one foot on a pointed stake.
Typist: Remington
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Stake, pale.[2]. (Mil.) Sentinel (on the outposts), guard, watchman, guardsman, sentry.
Typed by Julie
Definition
n. a pointed stake used in fortification: a small outpost or guard stationed in front of an army: a number of men sent out by a trades-union to prevent others from working against the wishes or decisions of the union: a game at cards: a punishment inflicted by making a person stand on one foot on a pointed stake.—v.i. to fasten to a stake as a horse: to post a vanguard: to place a picket at or near.—ns. Pick′et-fence a fence of pickets or pales; Pick′et-guard a guard kept in readiness in case of alarm.
Typed by Essie
Examples
- They picket them here to feed at night and keep them out of sight in the timber in the daytime, he thought. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- With more or less difficulty he would be conducted to a picket rope outside and fastened there. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- He never ate a mouthful of food on the journey except the grass he could pick within the length of his picket rope. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The picket lines were within a few hundred yards of each other. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- A teamster would select at the picket rope five animals of nearly the same color and general appearance for his team. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Pablo shifted the picket pin finally and stood by the horse, not talking now. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- The most friendly relations seemed to exist between the pickets of the two armies. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Smith's divisions had encountered the rebel advanced pickets as early as half-past seven. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Of course there was frequent skirmishing between pickets, but no serious battle was fought near either Petersburg or Richmond. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The rebel pickets also said that houses in the city had been pulled down to get material to build these boats with. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Smith was selected for the delicate duty of manning the boats and surprising the enemy's pickets on the south bank of the river. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The bridge was seized by Gross's brigade after a slight skirmish with the pickets guarding it. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Looking across it in the darkness, lighter here in the open from the starlight, he saw the dark bulks of the picketed horses. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- I go to see how they have picketed the horses. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- She picketed her steed, hung up her weapons, and warmed herself comfortably by his fire. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The enemy had the east bank of the creek strongly picketed and intrenched, and three brigades of troops in the rear to reinforce them if attacked. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
Edited by Lester