strafe

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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

strafe

/ˈstɹeɪ̯f/
[ˈstɹ̝̊ʷeɪf]
[ˈst̠ɹ̠̊˔ʷeɪ̯f]
/ˈstɹæɪ̯f/ Australia, New Zealand
[ˈstɹ̝̊ʷæ̝ɪf] Australia, New Zealand
[ˈst̠ɹ̠̊˔ʷæ̝ɪ̯f] Australia, New Zealand
/ˈstɹɑːf/ uncommon
[ˈstɹ̝̊ʷɑːf] uncommon
[ˈst̠ɹ̠̊˔ʷɑːf] uncommon
/ˈstɹæf/ uncommon
[ˈstɹ̝̊ʷæf] uncommon
[ˈst̠ɹ̠̊˔ʷæf] uncommon

Rhymes with -eɪf

Where it comes from

Borrowed from German strafe (“punish”) (a conjugated form of strafen), from phrases like Gott strafe England (“God punish England”) which the British saw during the First World War.

verb strafes · strafing · strafed

transitive To attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft. These should be especially useful against low-flying planes that "strafe" infantry and transport columns with machine-gun fire and light bombs.
broadly, transitive To rake (a target) with rapid or automatic gunfire. Laffey, fresh off from strafing Hiei, ran straight into a quarter of the Japanese navy's remaining destroyers, and, along with Kirishima, between gunfire and another successful Type 93 torpedo strike that tore off the ship's stern, the hapless destroyer was left drifting, ablaze, and would eventuall
figuratively, transitive To reprimand severely. You will get an officer sometimes fu'l of shout and swank, an' 'e 'll put 'em through it, an' strafe 'em, an' walk off parade feelin' that 'e 'as put the fear o' God into 'em.
intransitive To sidestep; to move sideways without turning (a core mechanic of most first-person shooters). Strafe — Press the Alt key and the left or right Arrow key to slide side to side instead of turning left or right.

noun strafes

World War I A heavy artillery bombardment. They were unfortunate, for a well-aimed shell during a German evening strafe demolished the apple tree and the nest.
An attack of machine-gun or cannon fire from a low-flying aircraft.
A sideways movement without turning. We also have added a new game control called the "defensive strafe," in which the user can press a button and stay facing forward.

Translations

Every language

verb to attack with automatic gunfire

Español	ametrallar, ametrallar desde el aire, ametrallar aéreamente, aeroametrallar
Français	mitrailler
Italiano	mitragliare

noun an attack from a low-flying aircraft

Español	ametrallamiento desde el aire, ametrallamiento aéreo, aeroametrallamiento
Italiano	mitragliamento

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Cite this

MLA

"strafe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/strafe. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

strafe. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/strafe

Chicago

"strafe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/strafe.

BibTeX

@misc{strafe_2026,
  title = {strafe},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/strafe},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}