general strike

noun

1. a mass strike in all or many trades and industries in a section or in all parts of a country.

general strike

noun

1. a strike by all or most of the workers of a country, province, city, etc, esp ( caps. ) such a strike that took place in Britain in 1926

general strike

1. A strike of all of the workers in a nation or area. General strikes are usually brief and designed to show the unity of the working class .

Word History and Origins

Origin of general strike¹

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10

Example Sentences

A general strike called by Mondlane has continued, despite the prime minister's call for people to return to work.

From BBC

Can a general strike and mass protests sway Netanyahu’s government—or will it just double down?

From Slate

Illustrating the split over how to move forward, areas of the country where Netanyahu’s support is high largely declined to take part in a general strike called Monday by the country’s biggest labor federation.

From Los Angeles Times

A one-day general strike, called by the country’s labour union, was very patchily observed – even in Tel Aviv, the country’s beach-side liberal heartland.

From BBC

Earlier on Monday, Israel's biggest trade union said hundreds of thousands of people had joined a general strike called to put pressure on the government to agree a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.

From BBC