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strike

At its most basic, strike means to hit. If you strike someone, you hit them with your hand or a weapon. If lightning strikes, it makes contact. If you strike out on a trip early, you're "hitting" the road. If you strike gold, the pick you're using to mine has hit gold and you've "struck it rich."

Strike can also mean not to hit, as in miss––as in "three strikes and you're out." That meaning might have evolved from striking meaning to cross off, as in "If you don't come to practice, coach will strike your name from the starting lineup." It might also have led to the idea of a labor strike. If employees want to protest their work conditions, they go on strike, or refuse to work until conditions improve.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: strike

1
 vn
deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
an attack that is intended to seize or inflict damage on or destroy an objective
2
 vn
stop work in order to press demands
a group's refusal to work in protest against low pay or bad work conditions
3
 n
a score in tenpins: knocking down all ten with the first ball
4
 n
(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
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: strike
1

v 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”
Synonyms
collide with, hit, impinge on, run into
hit against; come into sudden contact with
Types:
show 36 types...
hide 36 types...
jab
strike or punch with quick and short blows
dab, pat
hit lightly
bunt, butt
to strike, thrust or shove against
knock, strike hard
deliver a sharp blow or push :"He knocked the glass clear across the room"
cut down, down, knock down, pull down, push down
cause to come or go down
spur
strike with a spur
beak, peck, pick
hit lightly with a picking motion
tap, tip
strike lightly
hew
strike with an axe; cut down, strike
sideswipe
strike from the side
lash, whip
strike as if by whipping
beat
hit repeatedly
beat
strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music
sclaff
strike (the ground) in making a sclaff
clout
strike hard, especially with the fist
knap, rap
strike sharply
chop
strike sharply, as in some sports
slap
hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
sclaff
strike (a golf ball) such that the ground is scraped first
batter, buffet, knock about
strike against forcefully
headbutt
butt with the head
submarine
bring down with a blow to the legs
percuss
strike or tap firmly
snag
hew jaggedly
full
beat for the purpose of cleaning and thickening
beat
strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting
beetle
beat with a beetle
bastinado
beat somebody on the soles of the feet
coldcock, deck, dump, floor, knock down
knock down with force
whang
beat with force
paste
hit with the fists
knock
rap with the knuckles
thrash, thresh
beat the seeds out of a grain
hammer
beat with or as if with a hammer
cuff, whomp
hit with the hand
urticate
whip with or as with nettles
Type of:
touch
make physical contact with, come in contact with

v hit against; come into sudden contact with

“He struck the table with his elbow”
Synonyms:
collide with, hit, impinge on, run into
Antonyms:
miss
fail to reach
Types:
show 17 types...
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stub
strike (one's toe) accidentally against an object
ping
hit with a pinging noise
bang, spang
leap, jerk, bang
rear-end
collide with the rear end of
broadside
collide with the broad side of
connect
land on or hit solidly
spat
strike with a sound like that of falling rain
thud
strike with a dull sound
bottom
strike the ground, as with a ship's bottom
bottom out
hit the ground
bump, knock
knock against with force or violence
bump into, butt against, jar against, knock against, run into
collide violently with an obstacle
clash, collide
crash together with violent impact
glance
hit at an angle
smash
collide or strike violently and suddenly
shock
collide violently
crash, ram
undergo damage or destruction on impact
Type of:
touch
make physical contact with, come in contact with

v drive something violently into a location

“she struck her head on the low ceiling”
Synonyms:
hit
Types:
smash
hit violently
Type of:
displace, move
cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense

v pierce with force

“The bullet struck her thigh”
“The icy wind struck through our coats”
Type of:
penetrate, perforate
pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance

v make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target

“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”
Synonyms:
hit
hit, pip, shoot
hit with a missile from a weapon
hit
affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely
Types:
show 4 types...
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slice
hit a ball so that it causes a backspin
chop
hit sharply
stroke
strike a ball with a smooth blow
retaliate, strike back
make a counterattack and return like for like, especially evil for evil
Type of:
assail, attack
launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with

v affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely

“The earthquake struck at midnight”
Synonyms:
hit
hit
make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target
Type of:
affect, bear on, bear upon, impact, touch, touch on
have an effect upon

v cause to experience suddenly

“Panic struck me”
“The thought struck terror in our minds”
“They were struck with fear”
Synonyms:
come to, hit
affect, impress, move
have an emotional or cognitive impact upon

v touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly

“The light struck the golden necklace”
“A strange sound struck my ears”
Synonyms:
fall, shine
Type of:
come about, fall out, go on, hap, happen, occur, pass, pass off, take place
come to pass

v have an emotional or cognitive impact upon

“This behavior struck me as odd”
Synonyms:
affect, impress, move
actuate, incite, motivate, move, prompt, propel
give an incentive for action
come to, hit
cause to experience suddenly
Types:
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infect
affect in a contagious way
surprise
cause to be surprised
impress, ingrain, instill
produce or try to produce a vivid impression of
awaken
make aware
engrave
impress or affect deeply
strike dumb
render speechless, as by surprising or shocking
zap
strike suddenly and with force
jar
affect in a disagreeable way
hit home, strike a chord, strike a note, strike home
refer to or be relevant or familiar to
smite
affect suddenly with deep feeling
cloud
make gloomy or depressed
pierce
move or affect (a person's emotions or bodily feelings) deeply or sharply
impress
impress positively
sweep away, sweep off
overwhelm emotionally
disturb, trouble, upset
move deeply
stir, touch
affect emotionally
move
arouse sympathy or compassion in
sadden
make unhappy
alienate
make withdrawn or isolated or emotionally dissociated
amaze, astonish, astound
affect with wonder
explode a bombshell
utter or do something surprising
catch
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
boggle, bowl over, flabbergast
overcome with amazement
agitate, charge, charge up, commove, excite, rouse, turn on
cause to be agitated, excited, or roused
jolt
disturb (someone's) composure
cark, disorder, disquiet, distract, perturb, trouble, unhinge
disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed
prepossess
make a positive impression (on someone) beforehand
wow
impress greatly
get
evoke an emotional response
distress
cause mental pain to
ball over, blow out of the water, floor, shock, take aback
surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off
weigh down, weigh on
be oppressive or disheartening to

v attain

“The horse finally struck a pace”
Synonyms:
come to
Type of:
accomplish, achieve, attain, reach
to gain with effort

v arrive at after reckoning, deliberating, and weighing

“strike a balance”
“strike a bargain”
Type of:
figure out, lick, puzzle out, solve, work, work out
find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of

v occupy or take on

“strike a pose”
Synonyms:
assume, take, take up
fill, occupy, take
assume, as of positions or roles
Type of:
move
move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion

v find unexpectedly

“she struck a goldmine”
“The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake”
Synonyms:
attain, chance on, chance upon, come across, come upon, discover, fall upon, happen upon, light upon
Type of:
find, regain
come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost

v produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments, also metaphorically

“The pianist strikes a middle C”
“strike `z' on the keyboard”
“her comments struck a sour note”
Synonyms:
hit
Type of:
touch
make physical contact with, come in contact with

v form by stamping, punching, or printing

“strike a medal”
Synonyms:
coin, mint
Type of:
create from raw material, create from raw stuff
make from scratch

v produce by ignition or a blow

“strike fire from the flintstone”
“strike a match”
Type of:
create, make
make or cause to be or to become

v cause to form (an electric arc) between electrodes of an arc lamp

“strike an arc”
Type of:
form, shape
give shape or form to

v remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line

“Please strike this remark from the record”
Synonyms:
excise, expunge, scratch
Type of:
cancel, delete
remove or make invisible

v indicate (a certain time) by striking

“The clock struck midnight”
“Just when I entered, the clock struck”
Type of:
read, record, register, show
indicate a certain reading; of gauges and instruments

v smooth with a strickle

Synonyms:
strickle
Type of:
even, even out, flush, level
make level or straight

n an attack that is intended to seize or inflict damage on or destroy an objective

“the strike was scheduled to begin at dawn”
Types:
first strike
the initial use of nuclear weapons to attack a country that also has nuclear weapons; considered feasible only when the attacker can destroy the other country's ability to retaliate
surgical strike
an attack (usually without prior warning) intended to deal only with a specific target
preventive attack, preventive strike
a strike that is carried out in order to deter expected aggression by hostile forces
Type of:
attack, onrush, onset, onslaught
(military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)

n a gentle blow

Synonyms:
rap, tap
Type of:
blow, bump
an impact (as from a collision)

n a conspicuous success

Synonyms:
bang, hit, smash, smasher
Types:
blockbuster, megahit, smash hit
an unusually successful hit with widespread popularity and huge sales (especially a movie or play or recording or novel)
sleeper
an unexpected hit
Type of:
success
an attainment that is successful
2

v stop work in order to press demands

“The auto workers are striking for higher wages”
Synonyms:
walk out
Type of:
dissent, protest, resist
express opposition through action or words

n a group's refusal to work in protest against low pay or bad work conditions

“the strike lasted more than a month before it was settled”
Synonyms:
work stoppage
Types:
show 4 types...
hide 4 types...
sit-down, sit-down strike
a strike in which workers refuse to leave the workplace until a settlement is reached
sympathetic strike, sympathy strike
a strike in support of other workers who are on strike; a strike not resulting from direct grievances against the workers' employer
walkout
a strike in which the workers walk out
wildcat strike
a strike undertaken by workers without approval from the officials of their union
Type of:
job action
a temporary action by workers to protest management decision or to make demands
3

n a score in tenpins: knocking down all ten with the first ball

“he finished with three strikes in the tenth frame”
Synonyms:
ten-strike
Type of:
score
the act of scoring in a game or sport
4

n (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”
Type of:
delivery, pitch
(baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter
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