strike Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a group's refusal to work in protest against low pay or bad work conditions
    work stoppage.
    • the strike lasted more than a month before it was settled
  2. noun an attack that is intended to seize or inflict damage on or destroy an objective
    • the strike was scheduled to begin at dawn
  3. noun a gentle blow
    tap; rap.
  4. noun a score in tenpins: knocking down all ten with the first ball
    ten-strike.
    • he finished with three strikes in the tenth frame
  5. noun (baseball) a pitch that the batter swings at and misses, or that the batter hits into foul territory, or that the batter does not swing at but the umpire judges to be in the area over home plate and between the batter's knees and shoulders
    • this pitcher throws more strikes than balls
  6. noun a conspicuous success
    smash; bang; hit; smasher.
    • that song was his first hit and marked the beginning of his career
    • that new Broadway show is a real smasher
    • the party went with a bang
  7. verb deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
    • The teacher struck the child
    • the opponent refused to strike
    • The boxer struck the attacker dead
  8. verb have an emotional or cognitive impact upon
    affect; move; impress.
    • This child impressed me as unusually mature
    • This behavior struck me as odd
  9. verb hit against; come into sudden contact with
    run into; hit; collide with; impinge on.
    • The car hit a tree
    • He struck the table with his elbow
  10. verb make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target
    hit.
    • The Germans struck Poland on Sept. 1, 1939
    • We must strike the enemy's oil fields
    • in the fifth inning, the Giants struck, sending three runners home to win the game 5 to 2
  11. verb indicate (a certain time) by striking
    • The clock struck midnight
    • Just when I entered, the clock struck
  12. verb affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely
    hit.
    • We were hit by really bad weather
    • He was stricken with cancer when he was still a teenager
    • The earthquake struck at midnight
  13. verb stop work in order to press demands
    walk out.
    • The auto workers are striking for higher wages
    • The employees walked out when their demand for better benefits was not met
  14. verb touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly
    shine; fall.
    • Light fell on her face
    • The sun shone on the fields
    • The light struck the golden necklace
    • A strange sound struck my ears
  15. verb attain
    come to.
    • The horse finally struck a pace
  16. verb produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments, also metaphorically
    hit.
    • The pianist strikes a middle C
    • strike `z' on the keyboard
    • her comments struck a sour note
  17. verb cause to form (an electric arc) between electrodes of an arc lamp
    • strike an arc
  18. verb find unexpectedly
    happen upon; fall upon; attain; come upon; chance upon; discover; light upon; come across; chance on.
    • the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb
    • she struck a goldmine
    • The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake
  19. verb produce by ignition or a blow
    • strike fire from the flintstone
    • strike a match
  20. verb remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
    scratch; excise; expunge.
    • Please strike this remark from the record
    • scratch that remark
  21. verb cause to experience suddenly
    come to; hit.
    • Panic struck me
    • An interesting idea hit her
    • A thought came to me
    • The thought struck terror in our minds
    • They were struck with fear
  22. verb drive something violently into a location
    hit.
    • he hit his fist on the table
    • she struck her head on the low ceiling
  23. verb occupy or take on
    assume; take up; take.
    • He assumes the lotus position
    • She took her seat on the stage
    • We took our seats in the orchestra
    • She took up her position behind the tree
    • strike a pose
  24. verb form by stamping, punching, or printing
    coin; mint.
    • strike coins
    • strike a medal
  25. verb smooth with a strickle
    strickle.
    • strickle the grain in the measure
  26. verb pierce with force
    • The bullet struck her thigh
    • The icy wind struck through our coats
  27. verb arrive at after reckoning, deliberating, and weighing
    • strike a balance
    • strike a bargain

WordNet

Strike transitive verb
Etymology
OE. striken to strike, proceed, flow, AS. strican to go, proceed, akin to D. strijken to rub, stroke, strike, to move, go, G. streichen, OHG. strihhan, L. stringere to touch lightly, to graze, to strip off (but perhaps not to L. stringere in sense to draw tight), striga a row, a furrow. Cf. Streak, Stroke.
Wordforms
imperfect Struck ; past participle Struck, Stricken (Stroock Strucken obsolete ); present participle & verbal noun Striking Struck is more commonly used in the past participle than stricken
Definitions
  1. To touch or hit with some force, either with the hand or with an instrument; to smite; to give a blow to, either with the hand or with any instrument or missile.
    He at Philippi kept His sword e'en like a dancer; while I struck The lean and wrinkled Cassius. Shak.
  2. To come in collision with; to strike against; as, a bullet struck him; the wave struck the boat amidships; the ship struck a reef.
  3. To give, as a blow; to impel, as with a blow; to give a force to; to dash; to cast.
    They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two sideposts. Ex. xii. 7.
    Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow. Byron.
  4. To stamp or impress with a stroke; to coin; as, to strike coin from metal: to strike dollars at the mint.
  5. To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate; to set in the earth; as, a tree strikes its roots deep.
  6. To punish; to afflict; to smite.
    To punish the just is not good, nor strike princes for equity. Prov. xvii. 26.
  7. To cause to sound by one or more beats; to indicate or notify by audible strokes; as, the clock strikes twelve; the drums strike up a march.
  8. To lower; to let or take down; to remove; as, to strike sail; to strike a flag or an ensign, as in token of surrender; to strike a yard or a topmast in a gale; to strike a tent; to strike the centering of an arch.
  9. To make a sudden impression upon, as by a blow; to affect sensibly with some strong emotion; as, to strike the mind, with surprise; to strike one with wonder, alarm, dread, or horror.
    Nice works of art strike and surprise us most on the first view. Atterbury.
    They please as beauties, here as wonders strike. Pope.
  10. To affect in some particular manner by a sudden impression or impulse; as, the plan proposed strikes me favorably; to strike one dead or blind.
    How often has stricken you dumb with his irony! Landor.
  11. To cause or produce by a stroke, or suddenly, as by a stroke; as, to strike a light.
    Waving wide her myrtle wand, She strikes a universal peace through sea and land. Milton.
  12. To cause to ignite; as, to strike a match.
  13. To make and ratify; as, to strike a bargain. ✍ Probably borrowed from the L. foedus ferrire, to strike a compact, so called because an animal was struck and killed as a sacrifice on such occasions.
  14. To take forcibly or fraudulently; as, to strike money. Old Slang
  15. To level, as a measure of grain, salt, or the like, by scraping off with a straight instrument what is above the level of the top.
  16. (Masonry) To cut off, as a mortar joint, even with the face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle.
  17. To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly; as, my eye struck a strange word; they soon struck the trail.
  18. To borrow money of; to make a demand upon; as, he struck a friend for five dollars. Slang
  19. To lade into a cooler, as a liquor. B. Edwards.
  20. To stroke or pass lightly; to wave.
    Behold, I thought, He will . . . strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 2 Kings v. 11.
  21. To advance; to cause to go forward; -- used only in past participle. "Well struck in years." Shak.
Strike intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To move; to advance; to proceed; to take a course; as, to strike into the fields.
    A mouse . . . struck forth sternly [bodily]. Piers Plowman.
  2. To deliver a quick blow or thrust; to give blows.
    And fiercely took his trenchant blade in hand, With which he stroke so furious and so fell. Spenser.
    Strike now, or else the iron cools. Shak.
  3. To hit; to collide; to dush; to clash; as, a hammer strikes against the bell of a clock.
  4. To sound by percussion, with blows, or as with blows; to be struck; as, the clock strikes.
    A deep sound strikes like a rising knell. Byron.
  5. To make an attack; to aim a blow.
    A puny subject strikes At thy great glory. Shak.
    Struck for throne, and striking found his doom. Tennyson.
  6. To touch; to act by appulse.
    Hinder light but from striking on it [porphyry], and its colors vanish. Locke.
  7. To run upon a rock or bank; to be stranded; as, the ship struck in the night.
  8. To pass with a quick or strong effect; to dart; to penetrate.
    Till a dart strike through his liver. Prov. vii. 23.
    Now and then a glittering beam of wit or passion strikes through the obscurity of the poem. Dryden.
  9. To break forth; to commence suddenly; -- with into; as, to strike into reputation; to strike into a run.
  10. To lower a flag, or colors, in token of respect, or to signify a surrender of a ship to an enemy.
    That the English ships of war should not strike in the Danish seas. Bp. Burnet.
  11. To quit work in order to compel an increase, or prevent a reduction, of wages.
  12. To become attached to something; -- said of the spat of oysters.
  13. To steal money. Old Slang, Eng. Nares.
Strike noun
Definitions
  1. The act of striking.
  2. An instrument with a straight edge for leveling a measure of grain, salt, and the like, scraping off what is above the level of the top; a strickle.
  3. A bushel; four pecks. Prov. Eng. Tusser.
  4. An old measure of four bushels. Prov. Eng.
  5. Fullness of measure; hence, excellence of quality.
    Three hogsheads of ale of the first strike. Sir W. Scott.
  6. An iron pale or standard in a gate or fence. Obs.
  7. The act of quitting work; specifically, such an act by a body of workmen, done as a means of enforcing compliance with demands made on their employer.
    Strikes are the insurrections of labor. F. A. Walker.
  8. (Iron Working) A puddler's stirrer.
  9. (Geol.) The horizontal direction of the outcropping edges of tilted rocks; or, the direction of a horizontal line supposed to be drawn on the surface of a tilted stratum. It is at right angles to the dip.
  10. The extortion of money, or the attempt to extort money, by threat of injury; blackmailing.

Webster 1913