picketing

[ pik-it-ing ]

adjective

1. standing or marching, usually while holding a placard or sign, in front of a workplace, embassy, etc., as during a strike or demonstration:

   Local people have dropped off food supplies and newspapers for the picketing workers outside the plant.

2. Military, Navy, Air Force. acting as a guard in front of other troops or vessels to warn against an enemy advance:

   The enemy made us defend every inch, and it wasn’t long before our picketing troops ahead were engaged.

   The British squadrons had been weakened by the ambush on their picketing submarines.

noun

1. the act of standing or marching with placards or signs in front of a workplace, embassy, etc., as during a strike or demonstration:

   Peace activists instituted regular picketing of the weekly cabinet meetings and held vigils throughout the country.

Word History and Origins

Origin of picketing¹

First recorded in 1830–40; picket ( def ) + -ing ²( def ) for the adjective senses; picket ( def ) + -ing ¹( def ) for the noun sense

Example Sentences

Not everyone was welcoming, with the rabidly anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church picketing the track before his debut in Topeka.

From Los Angeles Times

Workers picketing at the Port of Philadelphia started marching in a circle at a rail crossing outside the port, chanting: “No work without a fair contract.”

From Salon

Longshoremen started picketing after their six-year labor contract with the United States Maritime Alliance expired at midnight.

From Los Angeles Times

And all those costs and hassles are likely to come at the worst possible time if striking dockworkers delay picketing until later this fall during peak holiday deliveries.

From Los Angeles Times

Unite Here deployed a combination of disruptive tactics — noisy picketing in the early morning, surprise work stoppages, marches through hotel lobbies — that helped put pressure on hotels, said union leaders and hotel industry experts in interviews.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advocacy
• involvement
• militancy