picket fence

noun

plural picket fences

: a fence made of pickets

a white picket fence

Old roses scrambling up a porch or spilling over a picket fence may be reminiscent of a bygone era.

—Michael MacCaskey

Tall pine trees lined both sides of the road, backdropped by an occasional stone wall or picket fence …

—Peter Gordon

—often used to evoke an idealized or stereotypical image or conception of happy suburban homes in the U.S.

First we are lulled with a vision of homespun Americana: flowers, a picket fence, a fireman waving from his fire truck, a man watering his front lawn.

—David Ansen

"Everyone saw me on TV or read articles, and it was all about my great marriage, the white picket fence, all this success and my perfect life. But behind the scenes, it was a struggle," says [Lindsay] Vonn …

—Elizabeth Leonard

… grandparents who were hoping their grandchildren would be raised behind a white picket fence and full-measure suburbanites …

—Janet Elder

We have worked our way up the real estate food chain to the point where we have a modest version of the complete suburban package: the picket fence, the stone walls, the in-ground pool …

—Charles McGrath

Examples of picket fence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1999, a metal picket fence with brick columns was put up in place of the 1926 wall, though a small portion of the old wall remains around the southern gate. —arkansasonline.com, 14 Sep. 2024

The visions of a single-family home, a white picket fence and a two-car garage have represented financial freedom for generations. —Jarred Kessler, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024

Horses and riders meandered Thursday night in a nearby field behind a white picket fence at a tony equestrian complex in Bridgehampton, N.Y., as Lauren showed bright tennis whites, baby blue dresses and jackets, and bright orange, green and yellow looks for men, women and the aforementioned tots. —Leanne Italie, The Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2024

In America, success is often portrayed as a single pathway: study hard, get good grades, go to college, graduate, and get a white-collar desk job that supports your family and funds the mortgage of your dream home with the white picket fence. —Julieanna Etter, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1777, in the meaning defined above