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streak

[streek]

noun

a long, narrow mark, smear, band of color, or the like: streaks of mud.

a portion or layer of something, distinguished by color or nature from the rest; a vein or stratum: streaks of fat in meat.

a vein, strain, or admixture of anything: a streak of humor.

Informal.

a spell or run: a streak of good luck.

an uninterrupted series: The team had a losing streak of ten games.

a flash leaving a visible line or aftereffect, as of lightning; bolt.

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Mineralogy. the line of powder obtained by scratching a mineral or rubbing it upon a hard, rough white surface, often differing in color from the mineral in the mass, and serving as an important distinguishing character.

Plant Pathology.

an elongated, narrow, superficial lesion on stems or leaf veins, becoming brown and necrotic.

any disease characterized by such lesions.

COLLAPSE

verb (used with object)

to mark with a streak or streaks; form streaks on: sunlight streaking the water with gold; frost streaking the windows.

to lighten or color (strands of hair) for contrastive effect.

10.

to dispose, arrange, smear, spread, etc., in the form of a streak or streaks: to streak cold germs on a slide for microscopic study.

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Streak is one of our favorite verbs.

So is subtilize. Does it mean:

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

verb (used without object)

11.

to become streaked.

12.

to run, go, or work rapidly.

13.

to flash, as lightning.

14.

to make a sudden dash in public while naked, especially as a prank.

Idiom

15.

blue streak. blue streak.

Origin:
before 1000; (noun) Middle English streke, akin to strike, Old English strica stroke, line, mark; cognate with German Strich, Gothic striks stroke, Latin strigil strigil; (v.) late Middle English streken to cross out, derivative of the noun (akin to strike, stroke¹)

Related forms

streaked·ly

[streekt-lee, stree-kid-lee] , adverb

streaked·ness, noun

streak·er, noun

streak·like, adjective

in·ter·streak, verb (used with object)

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un·streaked, adjective

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
3. cast, touch, element, trace.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To streak

Example Sentences

Few numbers in the statistics-crazed world of sports carry more prestige than the winning streak.

But laisser-faire seems to have given way to a thick interventionist streak.

These acrobats stir up a pair of scarlet macaws that fly off in a red streak to a quieter tree.

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Few numbers in the statistics-crazed world of sports carry more prestige than the winning streak.

But laisser-faire seems to have given way to a thick interventionist streak.

These acrobats stir up a pair of scarlet macaws that fly off in a red streak to a quieter tree.

The loser's brain presents a different pattern-that he's due for a winning streak.

Light caramel and fresh apple flavors with a good streak of crispness.

Now the question is how the company can continue its winning streak under new leadership.

There is no doubt that the character of our society has long been influenced by a streak of individualism.

His approach to the press has often been fierce, and he has a nasty streak.

Individuals who migrate to the sea lose their distinctive pink streak for a silver look.

It's hard to understand what keeps problem gamblers betting after a long losing streak.

With a pastry brush, quickly and lightly streak filo sheet with butter.

But his independent streak got him into trouble as well.

Most foreign investors will be able to live with this policy, despite its streak of xenophobia.

The streak of light is a trail left behind by my buddy who finally got across the pool of icy cold water.

Humanity has enjoyed an unusual streak of food surplus since the green revolution began in the mid-1960s.

One of my colleagues has a definite paranoid streak.

Its tight-knit, independent streak dates back centuries.

He isn't much to look at: a blue jay-size fellow with plain, olive-drab feathers and a single streak of orange on his head.

According to the data, it appears that the elephants streak across this area.

Jupiter will seem to streak past the growing crescent moon as the pair climb higher in the sky.

Rockets streak through space to place satellites there.

Stocks rose broadly after the market shook off its longest weekly losing streak in nearly a decade.

His behaviour was marked by an oddly prankish streak and outbursts of genuine jollity.

The streak of orange light on the right side of the photo is a reflection of the.

Lifeguards attribute the stinging streak in part to an unusually robust population of lion's mane jellies.

Plus, my antisocial streak makes the thought of visiting the intimate innards of strangers' homes a rather uncomfortable one.

The anglosphere's long streak of luck has preoccupied the losers more than the winners.

City lights streak by hundreds of miles below, lending a sense of motion and urgency to the otherwise still scene.

But critics point to a vengeful streak in the banning:.

I've never had any sort of defiant streak towards law, but for some reason, sarcasm was all that came to mind.

So you could have a lucky streak and get back much more than you.

They are on a consecutive win streak and repeated as champions last year.

Golding had a bullying streak and he drank too much.

The craft was designed to streak into space as a rocket but return as a glider, utilizing an.

The real worry should be that more power could encourage his authoritarian streak.

His opponents detect a streak of anachronistic anti-Americanism.

Exposure was four minutes to get a slight streak in the stars.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

streak¹ (striːk)

—n
1.	a long thin mark, stripe, or trace of some contrasting colour
2.	a. (of lightning) a sudden flash
	b. (as modifier): streak lightning
3.	an element or trace, as of some quality or characteristic
4.	a strip, vein, or layer: fatty streaks
5.	a short stretch or run, esp of good or bad luck
6.	mineralogy the powdery mark made by a mineral when rubbed on a hard or rough surface: its colour is an important distinguishing characteristic
7.	bacteriol the inoculation of a solid culture medium by drawing a wire contaminated with the microorganisms across it
8.	informal an act or the practice of running naked through a public place

—vb
9.	(tr) to mark or daub with a streak or streaks
10.	(intr) to form streaks or become streaked
11.	(intr) to move rapidly in a straight line
12.	informal (intr) to run naked through a crowd of people in a public place in order to shock or amuse them

[Old English strica, related to Old Frisian strike, Old High German strih, Norwegian, Swedish strika]

streaked¹

—*adj*

'streaker¹

—n

'streaklike¹

—*adj*

streak² (striːk)

—n
	a variant spelling of strake

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

streak

O.E. strica "line of motion, stroke of a pen" (related to strican "pass over lightly," see strike), from P.Gmc. *strikon (cf. M.L.G. streke "stroke, line," O.H.G., Ger. strich, Goth. striks "stroke, line"), from PIE base *streig- (see

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strigil). Sense of "long, thin mark" is first found 1567. Meaning "a temporary run (of luck)" is from 1843.

streak

1768, "to go quickly, to rush, run at full speed," respelling (by association with streak (n.)) of streek "to go quickly" (late 14c.), originally "to stretch oneself" (mid-13c.), a northern M.E. variant of stretch (v.). Streaking "running naked in public" first recorded 1973.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

streak (strēk)
n.
A line, stripe, smear, or band differentiated by color or texture from its surroundings.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

streak (strēk) Pronunciation Key

The characteristic color of a mineral after it has been ground into a powder. Because the streak of a mineral is not always the same as its natural color, it is a useful tool in mineral identification.
A bacterial culture inoculated by drawing a bacteria-laden needle across the surface of a solid culture medium. Also called streak plate.
Any of various viral diseases of plants characterized by the appearance of discolored stripes on the leaves or stems.

Slang Dictionary

streak definition

in.
to move rapidly from one place to another. : The train streaked into the station and came to a stop just inches from the end of the track.
in.
to run about in a public place naked. : This kid was streaking back and forth until the cops caught him.
tv.
to grace or ornament a public place or event with a naked run. : Charles streaked the baseball game, but nobody noticed him.
n.
a naked run in a public place. (See also streaker.) : There was a streak at the end of the game, but people were leaving then and didn't see it.
n.
an exciting time; a wild party. : We had a streak at Tom's.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

streak

see like greased lightning (a blue streak); talk someone's arm off (a blue streak); winning streak.