strike

Formsstrikes, striking, struck

Pluralstrikes

1. 1
   hitverbtransitive

   To hit someone or something hard or with force, with the hand, a tool or weapon, or by crashing into it.

   The hammer struck the metal plate with a loud clang.

   She watched the waves strike the rocks below the cliff.

   UsageThe past form is struck (not incorrect: striked). You strike someone on a body part: struck him on the jaw.

   Similarhit

   Note

   Strook is obsolete, though Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra still has Antony recall how he "strooke / The leane and wrinkled Cassius." The subject need not be a person: a bullet, a ship meeting a reef, or a train against a lorry's stabilizer leg all strike. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Strook is an obsolete past-tense form of strike. en.wiktionary.org
   • In Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, Antony recalls striking Cassius using the quoted wording. firstfolio.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
   • A train has struck a lorry's stabilizer leg. gov.uk
2. 2
   work stoppagenouncountable

   A concerted stoppage of work, or of another activity, carried out as a form of protest.

   The transit strike left thousands of commuters stranded for days.

   Hunger strikes have long been used by prisoners to draw attention to their cause.

   UsageWorkers go on strike or are on strike, and a union calls a strike.

   Similarwalkout

   Oppositelockout

   Note

   The noun of collective protest, and not only at work: any concerted stoppage counts, which is how prisoners come to stage hunger strikes. Walkout is the close synonym. Lockout is its mirror image, a stoppage imposed by the employer rather than chosen by the workers. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Prisoners stage hunger strikes as a form of protest. icrc.org
3. 3
   stop workingverbtransitive or intransitive

   To stop working as a deliberate, collective protest in order to win better pay or conditions.

   Teachers across the state voted to strike for smaller class sizes.

   The dockworkers struck the port authority over unpaid overtime.

   UsageWorkers strike for better pay or over a grievance; in everyday speech they also go on strike.

   Note

   Its family is the "taking down" meanings rather than hitting: workers strike work much as sailors strike a sail. Strike work survives as the full phrase. An 1889 New York Bureau of Labor report uses the bare verb, with eighteen weavers who "struck" over a breach of union rules.

4. 4
   military attacknouncountable

   An offensive action against a target, not necessarily involving physical force.

   The army launched a strike against the enemy's command center.

   Analysts warned of a possible cyber strike on the power grid.

   UsageOften with a word in front, air strike, missile strike, first strike, and a strike on or against a target.

   Similarattack, raid, assault, offensive, bombardment

   Note

   A first strike is the opening blow, delivered before the other side can act. Because the sense extends beyond physical force, a cyber or economic action against an adversary can be called a strike as well.

5. 5
   give impressionverbtransitive

   To give a particular impression to someone, or to seem a certain way to them.

   The proposal struck the committee as overly ambitious.

   His calm manner can strike strangers as cold.

   UsagePattern: strike someone as + adjective or noun: it struck me as odd.

   Similarimpress, seem, appear

   Note

   H. G. Wells uses exactly this shape in The Time Machine, where the survival of a jar of camphor "struck me as singularly odd." The thing that strikes is the subject, and the person struck is the object.

6. 6
   come suddenlyverbtransitive or intransitive

   To affect someone suddenly through a strong impression or impulse.

   Inspiration struck the painter as she watched the sunset.

   Panic may strike even experienced climbers near the summit.

   UsageOften passive with an adjective, struck dumb, struck speechless, or with the feeling as subject: inspiration struck.

   Similarhit, seize, grip, overtake, overcome

7. 7
   baseballnouncountable

   In baseball, a pitch charged against the batter: a missed swing, a pitch taken in the strike zone, a foul tip, or a foul ball with fewer than two strikes (or any foul bunt).

   A called strike on the corner ended the at-bat.

   He fouled off several pitches with two strikes against him.

   Oppositeball

   Note

   Baseball counts these against the batter, and three usually make an out, which is where the phrase three strikes comes from. Lyle Lovett's "Her First Mistake" (1996) borrows the count: his third mistake counts as strike three, a clean pitch over the plate, and she is gone. A called strike is one the batter takes without swinging.

8. 8
   do sudden harmverbintransitive

   To attack suddenly, often without warning; to carry out a violent, harmful or criminal act against a target.

   The burglars struck again last night, this time downtown.

   Terrorists may strike where security is weakest.

   UsageOften strike again, or with a time or place: thieves struck while the family was away.

   Similarattack

9. 9
   aim a blowverbintransitive

   To deliver a sudden blow or thrust, as in combat or an attack.

   The viper struck the moment it sensed movement.

   Skilled swordsmen strike and recover in a single motion.

   Similarattack, lunge, thrust, pounce

   Note

   Without an object, the verb names the act of attacking rather than the thing hit: a viper strikes, a swordsman strikes, a hammer strikes against a bell. In Shakespeare's Third Part of Henry the Sixth, Richard urges "strike now, or else the iron cools," turning the smith's timing into advice about seizing a moment. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Richard speaks the quoted words in Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 3, Act 5, scene 1. folger.edu
   • The iron-cooling image urges someone to seize an opportunity. folger.edu
10. 10
    physical hitnouncountable

    A blow, or the application of physical force, delivered against something.

    The fighter's strike landed squarely on his opponent's chin.

    A lightning strike split the old oak tree in two.

    Similarblow, hit, punch, knock, smack

    Note

    Martial arts build a whole set of names on this noun: knee strikes, finger strikes, knife hand strikes, ridge hand strikes, each named for the part of the body that lands. The word reaches beyond fighting, too. Annie Proulx's Accordion Crimes hears "the first strikes of rain," and a lightning strike is the same idea. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Annie Proulx wrote Accordion Crimes. simonandschuster.com
    • Accordion Crimes contains the exact phrase "the first strikes of rain." en.wiktionary.org
11. 11
    cross outverbtransitive

    To delete or cross out written material; to remove or eliminate something.

    The judge ordered the lawyers to strike the remark from the record.

    She struck his name from the guest list after the argument.

    UsageOften strike something from a record or list, or strike out or strike through words.

    Similardelete, remove, expunge, erase, scratch

    Oppositeadd, insert, include

12. 12
    make a dealverbtransitive

    To make and confirm an arrangement, such as a deal or bargain, by reaching agreement.

    Negotiators struck a bargain that satisfied both parties.

    The two companies hope to strike a deal to share their delivery trucks.

    UsageUsed with agreements: strike a deal, strike a bargain, strike a compromise.

    Similarreach, make, seal, clinch, conclude

13. 13
    sound the hourverbtransitive

    To cause a bell or clock to sound, especially to announce an hour of the day by one or more strokes.

    The cathedral clock struck midnight.

    Town clocks strike each hour to mark the passing day.

    UsageWhen a clock announces the time, the hour is the object: the clock struck twelve or struck midnight.

    Similarchime, toll, sound, ring

    Note

    In Great Expectations, Pip hears Saint Paul's and the City's church clocks, "some leading, some accompanying, some following," as they strike eleven. With up, the verb turns to music: the drums strike up a march, meaning they begin to play it. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The passage describes Saint Paul's and the City's church clocks using the quoted wording. gutenberg.org
    • The clocks strike eleven. gutenberg.org
14. 14
    score a goalverbintransitive

    In soccer and similar games, to score by putting the ball into the goal.

    The forward struck in the final minute to win the match.

    The young forward needs only one chance to strike, and the home crowd knows it.

    UsageIn match reports, often with a time or number: he struck twice, struck late to win.

    Similarscore, net

    Note

    The BBC's 2010 report of Stoke 0–2 Fulham has defender Chris Baird striking twice early in the first half. The same sense gives the agent noun striker, the attacking player whose main job is to score. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The BBC published a report titled Stoke 0–2 Fulham in 2010. en.wikipedia.org
    • The report describes defender Chris Baird scoring twice early in the first half. en.wiktionary.org
    • Striker is an agent noun formed from strike. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    bring sufferingverbtransitive

    To punish someone or bring suffering on them, with a sharp and severe effect.

    She was certain that heaven would strike him for the way he had treated his mother.

    A wasting disease struck the herd, and within a month half the cattle were dead.

    UsageOften in the passive, especially be struck down by an illness.

    Similarafflict, hit, punish

16. 16
    rich findnouncountable

    The act of finding a source of something, often a buried deposit of oil.

    Shares in the drilling company soared after it announced a major oil strike off the coast.

    Prospectors poured into the valley as word of fresh strikes spread down the river.

    UsageUsually with the material first: an oil strike, a gold strike. A company makes a strike; workers go on strike.

    Similarfind, discovery

17. 17
    set offverbintransitive

    To begin a walk or journey, usually heading off in a particular direction.

    If we strike out along the ridge now, we can reach the hut before dark.

    Leaving the car at the trailhead, they struck into the forest on a narrow deer path.

    UsageUsually with out, off or into and a direction: strike out along the ridge, struck into the forest.

    Similarhead, start (entry)

18. 18
    cricketnoununcountable

    In cricket, the position of facing the bowling, held by whichever of the two batsmen the bowler is delivering the ball to.

    He took a single off the last ball of the over to keep the strike.

    A scrambled leg bye handed the strike back to the set batsman.

    UsageCommon phrases include take the strike, keep the strike, and be on strike. Take strike is also used.

    Note

    In cricket the strike is a possession: a batsman has it, keeps it or gives it up. It normally passes to the partner when the pair run an odd number of runs, and it changes at the end of every over, when the bowling switches ends. Keeping the strike to shield a weaker partner is called farming the strike, and the batsman waiting at the other end is the non-striker.

19. 19
    reach (senses)verbfigurativelytransitive

    To reach and make an impact on someone or something without a physical blow, as a sight catches the eye or misfortune falls on a family.

    A faint sound of music struck his ear as he passed the open window.

    Bright red barns strike the eye from miles away on the open prairie.

    UsageOften strike the eye: what strikes the eye first is the color.

    Similarhit, catch, befall

    Note

    A misfortune can strike with nothing after the verb, its victims named later in a when clause: tragedy struck when his brother was killed in a bush fire.

20. 20
    verbtransitive

    To make something happen or appear by hitting, or to bring it about all at once as if by a blow.

    Groping through the dark cellar, he tried to strike a light.

    The sight of the warships on the horizon struck terror into the harbor towns.

    UsageCommon in strike fear into or strike terror into someone, and strike a light.

    Note

    What follows the verb is the result of the blow, not its target: to strike a light is to produce one. Milton's On the Morning of Christ's Nativity, written in 1629, carries it into the abstract, as a figure waving her myrtle wand "strikes a universall Peace through Sea and Land." Keep it apart from striking a match, where the object is the very thing hit and set alight. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • John Milton wrote On the Morning of Christ's Nativity. rpo.library.utoronto.ca
    • The first edition is dated 1645 on its title page. The poem's heading identifies 1629 as its composition year. en.wikisource.org
    • The poem depicts a female figure waving a myrtle wand and contains the quoted wording. gutenberg.org
21. 21
    black marknouncountable

    An official warning or black mark recorded against someone, where reaching a fixed number of them triggers a penalty.

    The landlord gave him a strike for the noise complaint and said two more would mean eviction.

    Under the new policy, drivers who collect three strikes in a year lose their license.

    Similarwarning

    Note

    The logic is that of the baseball strike, where the third one puts the batter out, and the count of three usually comes along: three strikes and you're out. Strikes are given, received or collected, and a strike against someone is a mark on their record. Ordinals are common (a second strike, a final strike), since the point is always how close the penalty is.

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