strike

present singular third person strikes · participle present striking · past struck · nonstandard past striked · obsolete past strook · obsolete past stroke · obsolete past strake · obsolete participle past struck · obsolete participle past stricken · obsolete participle past strucken · obsolete participle past striken · obsolete participle past strook

1. sometimestransitiveTo delete or cross out; to scratch or eliminate.

   Please strike the last sentence.

2. To have a sharp or sudden physical effect, as of a blow.
   1. transitiveTo hit.

      Strike the door sharply with your foot and see if it comes loose.  A bullet struck him.  The ship struck a reef.

      2 more examples

      […]he at Philippi kept / His ſword e’ne like a dancer, while I ſtrooke / The leane and wrinkled Caſſius,[…]

      c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene xi], page 356, column 1

      The 0812 Huddersfield-Sheffield service struck the stabiliser leg of a lorry being used to take away portable toilets after local repair work.

      2021 December 29, “Network News: RAIB: tighten up supervision after 27mph train sideswipe incident”, in RAIL, number 947, page 8

      Synonyms: thump

   2. transitiveTo give, as a blow; to impel, as with a blow; to give a force to; to dash; to cast.

      Who would be free themselves must strike the blow?

      1812, Lord Byron, “Canto II”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, stanza LXXV, page 102

      1 more example

      And they ſhall take of the blood and ſtrike it on the two ſide poſtes,[…]

      1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 12:7, column 2

   3. intransitiveTo deliver a quick blow or thrust; to give blows.

      A hammer strikes against the bell of a clock.

      1 more example

      Nay when? ſtrike now, or elſe the Iron cooles.

      1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 168, column 2

   4. transitiveTo manufacture, as by stamping.

      We will strike a medal in your honour.

      1 more example

      [I]n practice, small deformations will occur in the shell on striking the shuttering, or... alternatively, some small deformations are due to slightly imperfect placing of the original formwork.

      1977, Jaques Heyman, Equilibrium of Shell Structures, Clarendon Press, Oxford, page 107

   5. datedintransitiveTo run upon a rock or bank; to be stranded; to run aground.

      The ship struck in the night.

   6. transitiveTo 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.

      2 more examples

      I read with my watch upon the table, purposing to close my book at eleven o’clock. As I shut it, Saint Paul’s, and all the many church-clocks in the City—some leading, some accompanying, some following—struck that hour.

      1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter XX, in Great Expectations […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, pages 328-329

      It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

      1949 June 8, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, Part I, Chapter I

   7. intransitiveTo sound by percussion, with blows, or as if with blows.

      But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell!

      1816, Lord Byron, “Canto III”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Third, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza XXI, page 13

   8. transitiveTo cause or produce by a stroke, or suddenly, as by a stroke.

      to strike a light

      1 more example

      And waving wide her mirtle wand / She ſtrikes a univerſall Peace through Sea and Land.

      And waving wide her myrtle wand, / She strikes a universal peace through sea and land.

      1629, John Milton, “On the Morning of Christs Nativity”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, The Hymn, stanza III, page 3

   9. transitiveTo cause to ignite by friction.

      to strike a match

3. transitiveTo thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate.

   A tree strikes its roots deep.

4. 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.

   1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 217

5. To have a sharp or severe effect on a more abstract level.
   1. transitiveTo punish; to afflict; to smite.

      Alſo to puniſh the iuſt is not good, nor to ſtrike princes for equitie.

      1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 17:26, column 2

   2. intransitiveTo 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.

      1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, “The Shadow of the Bat”, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 6

   3. intransitiveTo act suddenly, especially in a violent or criminal way.

      The bank robber struck on the 2nd and 5th of May.

   4. figurativelytransitiveTo impinge upon.

      The first thing to strike my eye was a beautiful pagoda.  Tragedy struck when his brother was killed in a bush fire.

      1 more example

      In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts,[…], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be inseparable from genius, and which struck my attention in after days when I came in contact with the Celebrity.

      1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 1

   5. transitiveTo impress, seem or appear to (a person).

      Golf has always struck me as a waste of time.

      1 more example

      I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odor of camphor was unmistakable. It struck me as singularly odd, that among the universal decay, this volatile substance had chanced to survive, perhaps through many thousand years.

      1895 May 7, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Palace of Green Porcelain”, in The Time Machine: An Invention, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 163

   6. transitiveTo create an impression.

      The news struck a sombre chord.

      2 more examples

      The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.

      1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 249

      While the resolution seemed amicable, leaders of San Francisco and Oakland each struck a parrying tone in statements following Tuesday’s announcement.

      2026 April 28, Rachel Swan, “SFO and Oakland settle trademark dispute — ‘Oakland San Francisco Bay’ name stays”, in San Francisco Chronicle, archived from the original on 29 Apr 2026

   7. hobbiesTo 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.

      2010 December 28, Marc Vesty, “Stoke 0-2 Fulham”, in BBC

   8. 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

      2 more examples

      In like manner the writings of mere men[…]strike and surprise us most upon our first perusal of them[…].

      1734, Francis Atterbury, “A Sermon Preached at the Rolls, December 24, 1710: The Baptist's Message to Jesus, and Jesus's Answer Explained”, in Sermons on Several Occasions, new edition, volume I, published from the originals by Thomas Moore, London; reprinted in Sermons and Discourses on Several Subjects and Occasions, volume II, London, 1820, page 25

      Court-virtues bear, like gems, the highest rate, / Born where Heav'n's influence scarce can penetrate. / In life's low vale, the soil the virtues like, / They please as beauties, here as wonders strike.

      1734, Alexander Pope, An Epistle To The Right Honourable Richard Lord Viscount Cobham; reprinted in Henry W. Boynton, editor, The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope (The Cambridge Edition of the Poets), Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1903, page 159, lines 141–144

   9. To affect by a sudden impression or impulse.

      I was struck dumb with astonishment.

      1 more example

      The proposed plan strikes me favourably.

   10. UKintransitiveobsoleteslangTo steal or rob; to take forcibly or fraudulently.

       Now we haue well bousd, let vs strike some chete.

       Now we have well drunk, let us steal something.

       1567, Thomas Harman, “The vpright Coſe cateth to the Roge. [The Upright Man speaketh to the Rogue.]”, in 'A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, vulgarly called vagabonds'; reprinted in Charles Hindley, editor, A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursetors, Vulgarly called Vagabonds, London: Reeves and Turner, 1871, page 119

       1 more example

       Hee being thus duſted with meale, intreated the meale man to wipe it out of his necke, and ſtoopte downe his head: the meale man laughing to ſee him ſo rayed and whited, was willing to ſhake off the meal, and the whilſt, while hee was buſie about that, the Nippe had ſtroken the purſe and done his feate, and both courteouſly thanked the meale man and cloſely / went away with his purchaſe.

       He being thus dusted with meal, entreated the meal-man to wipe it out of his neck, and stooped down his head, the meal-man laughing to see him so arrayed and whited, was willing to shake off the meal, and while he was busy about that, the nip had stroken the purse and done his feat, and both courteously thanked the meal-man and closely went away with his purchase.

       Greene, Robert (2017), “A discourse, or rather discovery of the Nip and the Foist, laying open the nature of the Cutpurse and Pick-pocket.”, in Ex-Classics Project, retrieved 12 Dec 2019, The Complete Cony-Catching by Robert Greene

   11. archaicslangTo borrow money from; to make a demand upon.

       I must borrow money, / And that some call a striking; [...]

       1655, James Shirley, 'The Gentleman of Venice'; reprinted in William Gifford, Alexander Dyce, editors, 'The Dramatic Works and Poems of James Shirley', volume 5, London: John Murray, 1833, page 6

6. 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[…].

   1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], “Some Farther Considerations Concerning Our Simple Ideas”, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book II, § 19, page 58

7. transitivefishingTo 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.

   1894, Outing and the Wheelman, volume 24, page 56

8. To take down, especially in the following contexts.
   1. transitivenauticalTo haul down or lower (a flag, mast, etc.)
   2. broadlytransitiveTo capitulate; to signal a surrender by hauling down the colours.

      The frigate has struck, sir! We've beaten them, the lily-livers!

      1 more example

      He [King Charles II] ſent him [the Earl of Essex] Embaſſador to Denmark, where his behaviour in the affair of the flag gained him much reputation:[…]Lord Eſſex’s firſt buſineſs was to juſtify his behaviour in refuſing to ſtrike.[…]And he found very good materials to juſtify his conduct; ſince by formal treaties it had been expreſſly ſtipulated, that the Engliſh ſhips of war ſhould not ſtrike in the Daniſh ſeas.

      a. 1716 (date written), [Gilbert] Burnet, “Book III. Of the Rest of King Charles II’s Reign, from the Year 1673 to the Year 1685, in which He Died.”, in [Gilbert Burnet Jr.], editor, Bishop Burnet’s History of His Own Time. […], volume I, London: […] Thomas Ward […], published 1724, →OCLC, pages 396–397

   3. broadlyintransitivetransitiveTo stop working as a protest to achieve better working conditions.

      The workers striked for better wages.

      2 more examples

      Two men were put to work who could not set their looms; a third man was taken on who helped the inefficients to set the looms. The other weavers thought this was a breach of their union rules and 18 of them struck […]

      1889, New York (State). Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Statistics, Annual Report (part 2, page 127)

      At the end of the week they struck for double pay and got it, because the job had to be done.

      1933, Frank Clune, Try Anything Once, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 43

      Synonyms: strike work

   4. broadlydatedtransitiveTo 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.

      1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 227

   5. transitiveTo dismantle and take away (a theater set; a tent; etc.).

      The crew struck the set with a ferocity hitherto unseen, an army more valiant in retreat than advance.

      1979, Texas Monthly, volume 7, number 8, page 109

      1 more example

      “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.

      1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Merry Christmas”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 113

   6. transitiveTo 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.

      1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 217

9. intransitiveTo set off on a walk or trip.

   They struck off along the river.

   2 more examples

   In February, 1883, Mr. Hosie again left Chʻung-chʻing, and proceeded north-west to Chʻêng-tu, the capital of the province of Ssŭ-chʻuan, by way of the brine and petroleum wells of Tzŭ-liu-ching....In June, 1884, Mr. Hosie again left Chʻung-chʻing, and form Ho Chou, a three days' journey to the north of that city, he struck westward through a beautifully cultivated and fertile country to Chia-ting Fu, on the right bank of the Min at its junction with the Tʻung River.

   1885 October 8, “The British Association”, in Nature, volume 32, number 832, page 564

   I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.

   1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

10. intransitiveTo pass with a quick or strong effect; to dart; to penetrate.

    Til a dart ſtrike through his liuer,[…]

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 7:23, column 2

    1 more example

    For if either the Story move us, or the Actor help the lameneſs of it with his performance, or now and then a glittering beam of wit or paſſion ſtrike through the obſcurity of the Poem, any of theſe are ſufficient to effect a preſent liking[…].

    1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act I, page 11

11. datedTo break forth; to commence suddenly; with into.

    to strike into reputation;  to strike into a run

12. intransitiveTo become attached to something; said of the spat of oysters.
13. transitiveTo make and ratify; to reach; to find.

    to strike a pact

    5 more examples

    to strike a bargain, deal or agreement

    to strike a compromise

    to strike a truce, to strike an uneasy truce

    to strike an accord, alliance, ceasefire or armistice

    to strike a balance, to strike a delicate balance between

14. To discover a source of something, often a buried raw material such as ore (especially gold) or crude oil.

    to strike gold

    1 more example

    Howard Franklin and Henry Madison strike gold on the Fortymile River...

    1998, “A Gold Rush Timeline”, in The Brasher Bulletin, volume 10, number 2, page 5

15. To level (a measure of grain, salt, etc.) with a straight instrument, scraping off what is above the level of the top.
16. businessTo cut off (a mortar joint, etc.) even with the face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle.
17. To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly.

    My eye struck a strange word in the text.  They soon struck the trail.

18. obsoletebusinessTo 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.

    1793, Bryan Edwards, The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies, volume II, London: John Stockdale; republished in englarged and corrected edition, volume III, Philadelphia: James Humphreys, 1806, page 46

19. To stroke or pass lightly; to wave.

    […]Beholde, I thought, He will[…]ſtrike his hand ouer the place, and recouer the leper.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Kings 5:11, columns 2–1

20. UKdialectalTo 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.

    1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 302

21. obsoleteTo advance; to cause to go forward; used only in the past participle.

    […]Well ſtrooke in yeares,[…]

    c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 174, column 1

22. transitivebusinessTo balance (a ledger or account).
23. intransitiveobsoleteTo become saturated with salt.
24. intransitiveobsoleteTo run, or fade in colour.
25. USintransitiveobsoleteTo do menial work for an officer.

plural strikes

1. ball gamesA 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.

   1996, Lyle Lovett, “Her First Mistake”, in The Road to Ensenada

2. bowlingThe act of knocking down all ten pins on the first roll of a frame.
3. 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.

   Synonyms: walkout · Antonyms: industrial peace, lockout, non-strike, nonstrike

4. A blow or application of physical force against something.

   […] and they could hear the rough sound, could hear too the first strikes of rain as though called down by the music.

   1996, Annie Proulx, Accordion Crimes

   2 more examples

   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,[…]

   1990, Chris Traish, Leigh Olsson, An Overview of Martial Arts, page 14

   He's got machine guns and hatchets and swords / And some missiles and foods with trans-fats / He will unleash mass destruction, you're dead / You just got smashed... by the ¶ Attack of the Wrath of the / War of the Death of the / Strike of the Sword of the / Blood... of the Beast

   2008, Lich King (band), “Attack of the Wrath of the War of the Death of the Strike of the Sword of the Blood of the Beast”, in Toxic Zombie Onslaught

5. broadlygovernmentAn attack, not necessarily physical.

   air strike; first strike

6. businessIn an option contract, the price at which the holder buys or sells if they choose to exercise the option.
7. historicalAn old English measure of corn equal to the bushel.

   The sum is also used for the quarter, and the strike for the bushel.

   1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 4, page 207

8. ball gamesThe status of being the batsman that the bowler is bowling at.

   The batsmen have crossed, and Dhoni now has the strike.

9. The primary face of a hammer, opposite the peen.
10. geographyThe compass direction of the line of intersection between a rock layer and the surface of the Earth or another solid celestial body.
11. 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.
12. obsoleteFullness of measure; the whole amount produced at one time.

    a strike of malt; a strike of coin

13. broadlyobsoleteExcellence; 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.

    1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter X, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, pages 266–267

14. An iron pale or standard in a gate or fence.
15. artsA puddler's stirrer.
16. obsoleteThe extortion of money, or the attempt to extort money, by threat of injury; blackmail.
17. 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).

    2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847

18. The strike plate of a door.
19. fishingA 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.

    2014, Michael Gorman, Effective Stillwater Fly Fishing, page 87

20. hobbiesA cancellation postmark.
21. historicalmediaAn imperfect matrix for type.

plural Strikes

1. A surname.