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 There's more to these American suburbs than white picket fences and large backyards. —

Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 16 July 2024 Ellie broke up with her ex only a few weeks before her wedding due to him cheating and wants the white picket fence life. —

Alexandra Koster, refinery29.com, 8 Apr. 2024 They’re dedicated and highly maneuverable hunters that can squish down at extremely high speeds to dive through the gaps in a picket fence. —

John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 6 July 2024 Olivia de Havilland: Pictorial Parade/Getty Images Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart: John Springer Collection/Getty Images Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman: Newlyweds Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman lean on a white picket fence, after playing ping pong during their honeymoon at El Mirador Hotel. —

Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 26 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for picket fence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'picket fence.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.