a stake sharpened or pointed, especially one used in fortification and encampments, to mark bounds and angles; or one used for tethering horses.-a pointed pale, used in marking fences.-a detached body of troops serving to guard an army from surprise, and to oppose reconnoitering parties of the enemy; -- called also outlying picket.-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.-a military punishment, formerly resorted to, in which the offender was forced to stand with one foot on a pointed stake.-a game at cards. see piquet.-to fortify with pointed stakes.-to inclose or fence with pickets or pales.-to tether to, or as to, a picket; as, to picket a horse.-to guard, as a camp or road, by an outlying picket.-to torture by compelling to stand with one foot on a pointed stake.