English Dictionary

Definition of “strike”

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strike (straɪkPronunciation for strike) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: strikes, striking, struck
  1. to deliver (a blow or stroke) to (a person)
  2. to come or cause to come into sudden or violent contact (with)
  3. (tr) to make an attack on
  4. to produce (fire, sparks, etc) or (of fire, sparks, etc) to be produced by ignition
  5. to cause (a match) to light by friction or (of a match) to be lighted
  6. to press (the key of a piano, organ, etc) or to sound (a specific note) in this or a similar way
  7. to indicate (a specific time) by the sound of a hammer striking a bell or by any other percussive sound
  8. (of a venomous snake) to cause injury by biting
  9. (tr) to affect or cause to affect deeply, suddenly, or radically, as if by dealing a blow  ⇒ her appearance struck him as strange I was struck on his art 
  10. (tr; passive) with to render incapable or nearly so  ⇒ she was stricken with grief 
  11. (tr) to enter the mind of  ⇒ it struck me that he had become very quiet 
  12. to render  ⇒ I was struck dumb 
  13. (tr) to be perceived by; catch  ⇒ the glint of metal struck his eye 
  14. to arrive at or come upon (something), esp suddenly or unexpectedly  ⇒ to strike the path for home to strike upon a solution 
  15. (intr) out to set (out) or proceed, esp upon a new course  ⇒ to strike for the coast 
  16. (tr; usually passive) to afflict with a disease, esp unexpectedly  ⇒ he was struck with polio when he was six 
  17. (tr) to discover or come upon a source of (ore, petroleum, etc)
  18. (tr) (of a plant) to produce or send down (a root or roots)
  19. (tr) to take apart or pack up; break (esp in the phrase strike camp)
  20. (tr) to take down or dismantle (a stage set, formwork, etc)
  21. (tr) nautical 
    1. to lower or remove (a specified piece of gear)
    2. to haul down or dip (a flag, sail, etc) in salute or in surrender
    3. to lower (cargo, etc) into the hold of a ship
  22. to attack (an objective) with the intention of causing damage to, seizing, or destroying it
  23. to impale the hook in the mouth of (a fish) by suddenly tightening or jerking the line after the bait or fly has been taken
  24. (tr) to form or impress (a coin, metal, etc) by or as if by stamping
  25. to level (a surface) by use of a flat board
  26. (tr) to assume or take up (an attitude, posture, etc)
  27. (intr) (of workers in a factory, etc) to cease work collectively as a protest against working conditions, low pay, etc
  28. (tr) to reach by agreement  ⇒ to strike a bargain 
  29. (tr) to form (a jury, esp a special jury) by cancelling certain names among those nominated for jury service until only the requisite number remains See also special jury
  30. (tr) rowing to make (a certain number of strokes) per minute  ⇒ Oxford were striking 38 
  31. to make a stroke or kick in swimming
  32. (tr) (in Malaysia) to win (a lottery or raffle)
  33. See strike home
  34. See strike it lucky
  35. See strike it rich

noun

  1. an act or instance of striking
  2. a cessation of work by workers in a factory, industry, etc, as a protest against working conditions or low pay  ⇒ the workers are on strike again 
  3. a military attack, esp an air attack on a surface target  ⇒ air strike 
  4. baseball a pitched ball judged good but missed or not swung at, three of which cause a batter to be out
  5. ten-striketenpin bowling 
    1. the act or an instance of knocking down all the pins with the first bowl of a single frame
    2. the score thus made Compare spare (sense 17)
  6. a sound made by striking
  7. the mechanism that makes a clock strike
  8. the discovery of a source of ore, petroleum, etc
  9. the horizontal direction of a fault, rock stratum, etc, which is perpendicular to the direction of the dip
  10. angling the act or an instance of striking
  11. the number of coins or medals made at one time
  12. another name for strickle (sense 1)
  13. informal an unexpected or complete success, esp one that brings financial gain
  14. See take strike

See also

strike down , strike off , strike out , strike through , strike up

Alternative Forms

ˈstrikeless adjective

Word Origin

Old English strīcan;  related to Old Frisian strīka  to stroke, Old High German strīhhan  to smooth, Latin stria furrow

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= walkout, industrial action, mutiny, revolt, stop-work or stop-work meeting
= attack, bombing, assault, air strike, blitz,
= find, discovery, uncovering, unearthing,
= walk out, take industrial action down tools revolt, mutiny,
= hit, smack, thump, pound, beat, box, knock, punch, hammer, deck, slap, sock, chin, buffet, clout, cuff, clump, swipe, clobber, smite, wallop, lambast(e) lay a finger on, lay one on beat or knock seven bells out of
= drive, propel, force, hit, smack, wallop,
= collide with hit, run into, bump into, touch, smash into come into contact with knock into be in collision with
= knock, bang, smack, thump, beat, smite,
= affect, move, hit, touch, devastate, overwhelm, leave a mark on make an impact or impression on
= attack, assault someone fall upon someone set upon someone lay into someone
= attack, hit, affect, assault, devastate, invade, smite, assail, fall upon, set upon, deal a blow to
= occur to hit, come to, register, come to the mind of dawn on or upon
= seem to appear to look to, give the impression to
= move, touch, impress, hit, affect, overcome, stir, disturb, perturb, make an impact on
= agree on, settle on, come to an agreement on sign, sanction, endorse, clinch, ratify,
= achieve, arrive at, attain, reach, effect, arrange,
= assume, adopt, affect, take on, take up, feign,
= make, render, cause to become leave,
= ring, sound, toll, dong, peal, boom,
= delete, remove, erase, pull, eliminate, extract, get rid of, strike out, expunge, take away or off or out
= ignite, light, set alight touch off,
= discover, find, come upon or across reach, encounter, turn up, uncover, unearth, hit upon, light upon, happen or chance upon stumble upon or across reach, register,

Translations

  • British English: strike Pronunciation for strike When there is a strike, workers stop doing their work for a period of time, usually in order to try to get better pay or conditions for themselves.The air traffic controllers have begun a three-day strike.straɪk NOUN The air traffic controllers have begun a three-day strike.
  • Spanish: huelga Pronunciation for huelga nf
  • French: grève Pronunciation for grève nf
  • German: Streik Pronunciation for Streik nm Streiks
  • Chinese: 罢工Pronunciation for 罢工 n
  • Arabic: إِضْرابPronunciation for إِضْراب n
  • Portuguese: grevePronunciation for greve nf
  • Russian: ударPronunciation for удар nm
  • Croatian: štrajkPronunciation for štrajk nm
  • Czech: stávkaPronunciation for stávka nf
  • Danish: strejkePronunciation for strejke nutr
  • Dutch: slagPronunciation for slag nm
  • Finnish: lakkoPronunciation for lakko n
  • Greek: απεργίαPronunciation for απεργία nf
  • Italian: scioperoPronunciation for sciopero nm
  • Japanese: ストライキPronunciation for ストライキ n
  • Korean: 동맹 파업Pronunciation for 동맹 파업 n
  • Norwegian: streikPronunciation for streik nm
  • Polish: strajkPronunciation for strajk nm
  • Brazilian Portuguese: grevePronunciation for greve nf
  • European Spanish: huelga Pronunciation for huelga nf
  • Swedish: strejkPronunciation for strejk nutr
  • Thai: ประท้วงPronunciation for ประท้วง
  • Turkish: grevPronunciation for grev n
  • Vietnamese: cuộc bãi côngPronunciation for cuộc bãi công n
  • British English: strike Pronunciation for strike If you strike someone or something, you deliberately hit them.She took a step forward and struck him across the face.straɪk VERB She took a step forward and struck him across the face.
  • Spanish: golpear Pronunciation for golpear v
  • French: frapper Pronunciation for frapper vt
  • German: schlagen Pronunciation for schlagen vt
  • Chinese: 打击Pronunciation for 打击 vt
  • Arabic: يَضْرِبُPronunciation for يَضْرِبُ v
  • Portuguese: bater emPronunciation for bater em vt
  • Russian: нападатьPronunciation for нападать vi
  • Croatian: udaritiPronunciation for udariti v
  • Czech: udeřitPronunciation for udeřit vt
  • Danish: slå tilPronunciation for slå til v
  • Dutch: strijkenPronunciation for strijken vt
  • Finnish: lyödäPronunciation for lyödä vt
  • Greek: πλήττωPronunciation for πλήττω vt
  • Italian: colpirePronunciation for colpire vt
  • Japanese: 打つPronunciation for 打つ vt
  • Korean: ...을 치다Pronunciation for ...을 치다 vt
  • Norwegian: slåPronunciation for slå vt
  • Polish: uderzyćPronunciation for uderzyć vt uderzać
  • Brazilian Portuguese: bater emPronunciation for bater em vt
  • European Spanish: golpear Pronunciation for golpear v
  • Swedish: slåPronunciation for slå vt
  • Thai: ตี ดีด ปะทะPronunciation for ตี ดีด ปะทะ
  • Turkish: vurmakPronunciation for vurmak vt
  • Vietnamese: đậpPronunciation for đập v
  • British English: strike Pronunciation for strike When workers strike, they stop working for a period of time, usually to try to get better pay or conditions.They shouldn't be striking for more money.straɪk VERB They shouldn't be striking for more money.
  • Spanish: asestar un golpePronunciation for asestar un golpe v
  • French: faire la grêvePronunciation for faire la grêve vi
  • German: einschlagen Pronunciation for einschlagen vi
  • Chinese: 罢工Pronunciation for 罢工 vi
  • Arabic: يُضْرِبُPronunciation for يُضْرِبُ vi
  • Portuguese: atacarPronunciation for atacar vi
  • Russian: ударятьсяPronunciation for ударяться vi
  • Croatian: dojmiti sePronunciation for dojmiti se v
  • Czech: zasáhnoutPronunciation for zasáhnout vi
  • Danish: falde indPronunciation for falde ind v
  • Dutch: slaanPronunciation for slaan vi
  • Finnish: iskeäPronunciation for iskeä vi
  • Greek: επιτίθεμαι αιφινιδιαστικάPronunciation for επιτίθεμαι αιφινιδιαστικά vi
  • Italian: attaccarePronunciation for attaccare vi
  • Japanese: 襲うPronunciation for 襲う vi
  • Korean: 치다Pronunciation for 치다 vi
  • Norwegian: slåPronunciation for slå vi
  • Polish: uderzyćPronunciation for uderzyć vi uderzać
  • Brazilian Portuguese: estar em grevePronunciation for estar em greve vi
  • European Spanish: asestar un golpePronunciation for asestar un golpe v
  • Swedish: slåPronunciation for slå vi
  • Thai: หยุดงานประท้วงPronunciation for หยุดงานประท้วง
  • Turkish: darbe yemekPronunciation for darbe yemek vi
  • Vietnamese: điểm giờPronunciation for điểm giờ v
  • British English: strike Pronunciation for strike To strike someone or something means to attack them or to affect them, quickly and violently.The killer says he will strike again. A powerful earthquake struck the island last night.straɪk VERB The killer says he will strike again. A powerful earthquake struck the island last night.
  • Spanish: hacer huelgaPronunciation for hacer huelga v
  • French: frapper Pronunciation for frapper vt
  • German: streiken Pronunciation for streiken v
  • Chinese: 打击Pronunciation for 打击 vi
  • Arabic: يَضْرِبُPronunciation for يَضْرِبُ vi
  • Portuguese: estar em grevePronunciation for estar em greve vi
  • Russian: бастоватьPronunciation for бастовать vi
  • Croatian: štrajkatiPronunciation for štrajkati v
  • Czech: stávkovatPronunciation for stávkovat vi
  • Danish: strejkePronunciation for strejke v
  • Dutch: stakenPronunciation for staken vi
  • Finnish: olla lakossaPronunciation for olla lakossa vi
  • Greek: απεργώPronunciation for απεργώ vi
  • Italian: scioperarePronunciation for scioperare vi
  • Japanese: ストライキをするPronunciation for ストライキをする
  • Korean: 동맹 파업을 하다Pronunciation for 동맹 파업을 하다 vi
  • Norwegian: streikePronunciation for streike v
  • Polish: zastrajkowaćPronunciation for zastrajkować vi strajkować
  • Brazilian Portuguese: atacar Pronunciation for atacar vi
  • European Spanish: hacer huelgaPronunciation for hacer huelga v
  • Swedish: strejkaPronunciation for strejka vi
  • Thai: หยุดงานประท้วงPronunciation for หยุดงานประท้วง
  • Turkish: grev yapmakPronunciation for grev yapmak vi
  • Vietnamese: bãi côngPronunciation for bãi công v

Usage examples

  • Despite the heat of the fight, Charlie knew better than to strike a Kemp, especially Rollo.
    Mark Mills, AMAGANSETT (2004)
  • How To: Coin a Catch Phrase Line up a few words to strike slogan gold just like the Donald!
    Maxim (2005)
  • Mr Cheney said in talks on Tuesday that Washington was not planning to strike Iraq" in the near future".
    Irish Times (2002)
  • Train services will run close to normal on Monday after the threat of a 24-hour guards ' strike was lifted on most lines yesterday.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • Invariably after a disappointment they will pick themselves up, dust themselves off and strike out again.
    Michael Geary, MOON ASTROLOGY FOR LOVERS (2002)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'S'

Related Terms

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