strike
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strike¹
- /stɹaɪk/ US, UK
- /stiː.ɹaɪk/
- [stiː.ɹ̠ʌɪ̯k(ʰ)]
Rhymes with -aɪk
Where it comes from
From Middle English stryken, from Old English strīcan, from Proto-West Germanic *strīkan, from Proto-Germanic *strīkaną, from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to stroke, rub, press”).
Cognate with Dutch strijken, German streichen, Danish stryge, Icelandic strýkja, strýkva.
verb strikes · striking · struck · striked · strook · stroke
- To delete or cross out; to scratch or eliminate. Please strike the last sentence.
-
To hit.
Strike the door sharply with your foot and see if it comes loose. A bullet struck him. The ship struck a reef.
Similar: thump
- To give, as a blow; to impel, as with a blow; to give a force to; to dash; to cast. And they ſhall take of the blood and ſtrike it on the two ſide poſtes,[…]
- To deliver a quick blow or thrust; to give blows. A hammer strikes against the bell of a clock.
- To manufacture, as by stamping. We will strike a medal in your honour.
- To run upon a rock or bank; to be stranded; to run aground. The ship struck in the night.
- To cause to sound by one or more beats; to indicate or notify by audible strokes. Of a clock, to announce (an hour of the day), usually by one or more sounds. The clock struck twelve. The drums strike up a march.
- To sound by percussion, with blows, or as if with blows. But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell!
- To cause or produce by a stroke, or suddenly, as by a stroke. to strike a light
- To cause to ignite by friction. to strike a match
- To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate. A tree strikes its roots deep.
- To infest the flesh of a living vertebrate. The blowflies come in March, but if a man shears then the flies don’t bother much. The flies strike young lambs, but then the lambing could be regulated.
- To punish; to afflict; to smite. Alſo to puniſh the iuſt is not good, nor to ſtrike princes for equitie.
- To carry out a violent or illegal action. The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day.
- To act suddenly, especially in a violent or criminal way. The bank robber struck on the 2nd and 5th of May.
- To impinge upon. The first thing to strike my eye was a beautiful pagoda. Tragedy struck when his brother was killed in a bush fire.
- To impress, seem or appear to (a person). Golf has always struck me as a waste of time.
- To create an impression. The news struck a sombre chord.
- To score a goal. Defender Chris Baird struck twice early in the first half to help Fulham move out of the relegation zone and ease the pressure on manager Mark Hughes.
- To make a sudden impression upon, as if by a blow; to affect with some strong emotion. to strike the mind with surprise; to strike somebody with wonder, alarm, dread, or horror
- To affect by a sudden impression or impulse. The proposed plan strikes me favourably.
- To steal or rob; to take forcibly or fraudulently. Now we haue well bousd, let vs strike some chete.
- To borrow money from; to make a demand upon. I must borrow money, / And that some call a striking; [...]
- To touch; to act by appulse. Let us conſider the red and white colours in Porphyre: Hinder light, but from ſtriking on it, and its Colours vaniſh[…].
- To hook (a fish) by a quick turn of the wrist. Of course, almost any fool could strike a fish if it lay quiet in very shallow water.
- To haul down or lower (a flag, mast, etc.)
- To capitulate; to signal a surrender by hauling down the colours. The frigate has struck, sir! We've beaten them, the lily-livers!
-
To stop working as a protest to achieve better working conditions.
The workers striked for better wages.
Similar: strike work
- To quit (one's job). It appears that a compositor had been engaged for the Northem Territory Times, and for a considerable time the editor seems to have led a comparatively unruffled existence; till in an evil hour the compositor was smitten with gold fever, and struck work.
- To dismantle and take away (a theater set; a tent; etc.). “Strike the tent there!”—was the next order. As I hinted before, this whalebone marquee was never pitched except in port; and on board the Pequod, for thirty years, the order to strike the tent was well known to be the next thing to heaving up the anchor.
- To unfasten, to loosen (chains, bonds, etc.). He struck my chains, and gently spake and smiled: As they were loosened by that Hermit old, Mine eyes were of their madness half beguiled, To answer those kind looks.
- To set off on a walk or trip. They struck off along the river.
- To pass with a quick or strong effect; to dart; to penetrate. Til a dart ſtrike through his liuer,[…]
- To break forth; to commence suddenly; with into. to strike into reputation; to strike into a run
- To become attached to something; said of the spat of oysters.
- To make and ratify; to reach; to find. to strike a bargain, deal or agreement
- To discover a source of something, often a buried raw material such as ore (especially gold) or crude oil. to strike gold
- To level (a measure of grain, salt, etc.) with a straight instrument, scraping off what is above the level of the top.
- To cut off (a mortar joint, etc.) even with the face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle.
- To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly. My eye struck a strange word in the text. They soon struck the trail.
- To lade thickened sugar cane juice from a teache into a cooler. In the teache the subject is still further evaporated, till it is judged sufficiently boiled to be removed from the fire. This operation is usually called striking; (i.e.) lading the liquor, now exceedingly thick, into the cooler.
- To stroke or pass lightly; to wave. […]Beholde, I thought, He will[…]ſtrike his hand ouer the place, and recouer the leper.
- To apply or rub in liniment or ointment; to anoint. The mother said nothing to this, but gave nurse a certain ointment, with directions that she should strike (i.e. rub) the child's eyes with it.
- To advance; to cause to go forward; used only in the past participle. […]Well ſtrooke in yeares,[…]
- To balance (a ledger or account).
- To become saturated with salt.
- To run, or fade in colour.
- To do menial work for an officer.
noun strikes
- A status resulting from a batter swinging and missing a pitch, or not swinging at a pitch when the ball goes in the strike zone, or hitting a foul ball that is not caught. It was then I knew I had made my third mistake. Yes, three strikes right across the plate, and as I hollered "Honey, please wait" she was gone.
- The act of knocking down all ten pins on the first roll of a frame.
-
A work stoppage (or otherwise concerted stoppage of an activity) as a form of protest.
After an eleven-week strike, it was management that finally blinked.
Similar: walkout · Opposite: industrial peace, lockout, non-strike, nonstrike
- A blow or application of physical force against something. Thus hand strikes now include single knuckle strikes, knife hand strikes, finger strikes, ridge hand strikes etc., and leg strikes include front kicks, knee strikes, axe kicks,[…]
- An attack, not necessarily physical. air strike; first strike
- In an option contract, the price at which the holder buys or sells if they choose to exercise the option.
- An old English measure of corn equal to the bushel. The sum is also used for the quarter, and the strike for the bushel.
- The status of being the batsman that the bowler is bowling at. The batsmen have crossed, and Dhoni now has the strike.
- The primary face of a hammer, opposite the peen.
- The compass direction of the line of intersection between a rock layer and the surface of the Earth or another solid celestial body.
- An instrument with a straight edge for levelling a measure of grain, salt, etc., scraping off what is above the level of the top; a strickle.
- Fullness of measure; the whole amount produced at one time. a strike of malt; a strike of coin
- Excellence; quality. […]our cellarer shall have orders to deliver to thee a butt of sack, a runlet of Malvesie, and three hogsheads of ale of the first strike, yearly—If that will not quench thy thirst, thou must come to court, and become acquainted with my butler.
- An iron pale or standard in a gate or fence.
- A puddler's stirrer.
- The extortion of money, or the attempt to extort money, by threat of injury; blackmail.
- The discovery of a source of something. The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices).
- The strike plate of a door.
- A nibble on the bait by a fish. I must admit that my focus was divided, which limited my fishing success. I made a few casts, then arranged my inanimate subjects and took photos. When my indicator went down on my first strike, I cleanly missed the hook up.
- A cancellation postmark.
- An imperfect matrix for type.
Strike²
Where it comes from
English surname, from the verb strike.
proper noun Strikes
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: discover, mint, impress, light upon, move, shine, excise, coin, come upon, happen upon, chance upon, run into, chance on, affect, flick, expunge
Translations
Every language
verb nautical: to take down
| Français | affaler |
|---|---|
| Русский | спусти́ть spustítʹ, спуска́ть spuskátʹ, убира́ть ubirátʹ, убра́ть ubrátʹ |
verb to delete
| Español | tachar, borrar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 消す kesu |
| Português | eliminar, deletar, excluir |
| Français | biffer, rayer, barrer |
| Deutsch | streichen |
| Italiano | cancellare |
| Ελληνικά | διαγράφω diagráfo |
| Русский | вычёркивать vyčórkivatʹ, вы́черкнуть výčerknutʹ, зачёркивать začórkivatʹ, зачеркну́ть začerknútʹ |
verb to hit
| Español | golpear, pegar, asestar, propinar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 打つ utsu, 攻撃する kōgeki suru |
| 中文 | 打擊 /打击 dǎjī |
| Português | acertar, golpear |
| Français | frapper, battre |
| Deutsch | schlagen |
| Italiano | colpire |
| Ελληνικά | χτυπώ chtypó |
| Română | bate |
| Русский | бить bitʹ, ударя́ть udarjátʹ, уда́рить udáritʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | đánh |
| العربية | ضَرَبَ ḍaraba |
| עברית | הִכָּה hiká |
verb to manufacture by stamping
| Español | acuñar |
|---|---|
| Français | frapper |
| Deutsch | prägen |
| Italiano | coniare |
| Русский | чека́нить čekánitʹ, отчека́нить otčekánitʹ |
verb to cause to sound by one or more beats
| Français | battre |
|---|
verb (figurative) to impinge upon
| Español | sobrevenir |
|---|---|
| Français | frapper |
verb to impress, seem, appear
| Español | ocurrirse, parecer |
|---|---|
| Português | parecer |
| Français | frapper |
| Deutsch | scheinen |
| Italiano | sembrare |
| Ελληνικά | εντυπωσιάζω entyposiázo |
| Русский | поража́ть poražátʹ, порази́ть porazítʹ, потряса́ть potrjasátʹ, потрясти́ potrjastí |
verb to create an impression
| Français | frapper |
|---|
verb to make a sudden impression upon, as if by a blow; to affect with some strong emotion
| Español | sorprender, impresionar, descubrir, impactar, sacudir |
|---|---|
| Français | frapper |
verb nautical: to surrender
| Español | arriar, bajar |
|---|---|
| Português | impressionar, parecer |
| Français | baisser pavillon, amener |
| Deutsch | die Fahne streichen |
| Italiano | arrendersi |
| Ελληνικά | υποστέλλω ypostéllo |
| Русский | сдава́ться sdavátʹsja, сда́ться sdátʹsja |
verb to stop working as a form of protest
| Español | parar el trabajo, hacer huelga, huelguear |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ストライキを起こす sutoraiki o okosu |
| Português | fazer greve |
| Français | faire grève |
| Deutsch | streiken |
| Italiano | scioperare |
| Ελληνικά | απεργώ apergó |
| Română | grevă |
| Русский | бастова́ть bastovátʹ, забастова́ть zabastovátʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | bãi công, đình công |
| עברית | שָׁבַת shavát |
noun in bowling
| Español | chuza, pleno, moñona |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 스트라이크 seuteuraikeu |
| 日本語 | ストライク sutoraiku |
| 中文 | 全倒 |
| Português | strike |
| Français | strike |
| Deutsch | Strike |
| Русский | страйк strajk |
noun in baseball
| Español | strike |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 스트라이크 seuteuraikeu |
| 日本語 | ストライク sutoraiku |
| 中文 | 好球 hǎoqiú |
| Deutsch | Strike |
| Русский | страйк strajk |
noun work stoppage
| Español | huelga, paro |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 파업 pa'eop, 스트라이크 seuteuraikeu |
| 日本語 | ストライキ sutoraiki, スト suto, 同盟罷業 dōmei higyō, 罷工 hikō |
| 中文 | 罷工 /罢工 bàgōng |
| हिन्दी | हड़ताल haṛtāl |
| Kiswahili | mgomo |
| Português | greve |
| Français | grève |
| Deutsch | Streik |
| Italiano | sciopero |
| Ελληνικά | απεργία apergía |
| Română | grevă |
| Русский | забасто́вка zabastóvka, ста́чка stáčka |
| Tiếng Việt | đình công, sự bãi công |
| العربية | إِضْرَاب ʔiḍrāb |
| עברית | שְׁבִיתָה sh'vitá |
noun physical blow
| Español | golpe |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 打擊 /打击 dǎjī, dǎjí |
| Português | ataque |
| Français | coup, frappe |
| Deutsch | Schlag |
| Ελληνικά | χτύπημα chtýpima |
| Русский | уда́р udár |
noun (military) an attack, not necessarily physical
| Español | interpresa |
|---|
Talk about this word "strike." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/strike. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. strike. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/strike "strike." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/strike.
Cite this
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BibTeX
@misc{strike_2026,
title = {strike},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/strike},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
