noun / verb
strike
An organized refusal to work in protest.
The workers strike after negotiations fail.
Etymology
The labor sense is traditionally associated with sailors striking, or lowering, sails to prevent a ship from sailing. The term broadened to collective refusal to work.
More examples
- The strike lasted three weeks.
- They struck for safer working conditions.
- The union has struck twice in the past decade.
Forms
strike · strikes · struck · striking
striker noun — A worker refusing to work in protest.
Similar words
- walkout
- Often an abrupt departure from work rather than a sustained stoppage.
- boycott
- Refuses participation or purchases rather than labor specifically.