picket
5
6.1
- noun
- /ˈpɪkɪt/
- Jargon
:
centinela
- The soldiers were stationed at the picket to watch for enemy movements.
- picket duty
- radar picket
- picket post
Examples
-
While attempting to make a night crossing into federal lines, enemy pickets captured the pair.
Academic text (2008) -
When the hour came, he was on picket duty, but laid down his weapon and marched off.
Academic text (2009) -
My squadron is on picket duty.
-
Strike for the east side of the swamp till you clear the French picket line.
-
We would pass within fifty meters of the picket.
Fiction book (1993) -
We are ordered to form a picket line and cover the Army's retreat across the river.
-
Many times Rafe had stood picket and thought he heard movement out in the woods.
Fiction book (1995) -
The enemy's pickets are within four miles of my position.
-
Sergeant Chillum, are the pickets out?
-
Go alert the pickets.
Synonyms
442
4.2
A time when people stay awake to guard or look for danger
152
3.2
A person who looks for talented people to join a team or show
88
3.7
A person who watches and warns others about danger
31
7.4
A person who watches a place to warn others of danger
26
6.0
A soldier who stands watch to guard a place
21
4.4
A person who watches closely and reports storms, dangers, or animal sightings
1
8.9
A group of soldiers who protect the back of an army during a retreat
A ship that watches for enemy ships or planes and warns other ships
A small boat that patrols and watches for danger near a harbor or fleet
Compounds
27
4.2
A line of workers outside a workplace during a strike who stand to protest and stop others entering
23
2.0
A row of upright wooden or metal boards with spaces that mark the edge of a yard
How Alert
Surface Forms
Etymology
The military meaning of picket comes from the same French piquet, a 'small post' or stake placed at the edge of a camp where a guard would watch for danger. That's why a picket is also a person or group used as a guard or lookout.