A walkout is when a group of people leave a place together as a form of protest. When workers walk out of their factory or office, they're refusing to work until their employer addresses their concerns about pay, safety, or working conditions. Students might stage a walkout by leaving their classrooms to protest a school policy they believe is unfair.

The power of a walkout comes from numbers and unity. One person leaving doesn't send much of a message, but when an entire workforce or student body walks out together, it creates pressure for change. A walkout disrupts normal operations and forces people in authority to pay attention to the protesters' demands.

Walkouts have played important roles throughout history. In the early 1900s, factory workers organized walkouts to demand safer working conditions and reasonable hours. More recently, students have walked out to advocate for various causes they care about.

The word can also simply mean the act of leaving: if you arrive at a boring movie and decide to leave after ten minutes, you might call that a walkout. But the protest meaning is more common and significant.