strike (straɪk) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) |
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| —vb (usually foll by with) (sometimes foll by out) , strikes, striking, struck, struck, stricken, struck, stricken |
| 1. | to deliver (a blow or stroke) to (a person) |
| 2. | to come or cause to come into sudden or violent contact (with) |
| 3. | (tr) to make an attack on |
| 4. | to produce (fire, sparks, etc) or (of fire, sparks, etc) to be produced by ignition |
| 5. | to cause (a match) to light by friction or (of a match) to be lighted |
| 6. | to press (the key of a piano, organ, etc) or to sound (a specific note) in this or a similar way |
| 7. | to indicate (a specific time) by the sound of a hammer striking a bell or by any other percussive sound |
| 8. | (of a venomous snake) to cause injury by biting |
| 9. | (tr) to affect or cause to affect deeply, suddenly, or radically, as if by dealing a blow: her appearance struck him as strange; I was struck on his art |
| 10. | to render incapable or nearly so: she was stricken with grief |
| 11. | (tr) to enter the mind of: it struck me that he had become very quiet |
| 12. | to render: I was struck dumb |
| 13. | (tr) to be perceived by; catch: the glint of metal struck his eye |
| 14. | to arrive at or come upon (something), esp suddenly or unexpectedly: to strike the path for home; to strike upon a solution |
| 15. | to set (out) or proceed, esp upon a new course: to strike for the coast |
| 16. | (tr; usually passive) to afflict with a disease, esp unexpectedly: he was struck with polio when he was six |
| 17. | (tr) to discover or come upon a source of (ore, petroleum, etc) |
| 18. | (tr) (of a plant) to produce or send down (a root or roots) |
| 19. | (tr) to take apart or pack up; break (esp in the phrase strike camp) |
| 20. | (tr) to take down or dismantle (a stage set, formwork, etc) |
| 21. | (tr) nautical |
| | a. to lower or remove (a specified piece of gear) |
| | b. to haul down or dip (a flag, sail, etc) in salute or in surrender |
| | c. to lower (cargo, etc) into the hold of a ship |
| 22. | to attack (an objective) with the intention of causing damage to, seizing, or destroying it |
| 23. | to impale the hook in the mouth of (a fish) by suddenly tightening or jerking the line after the bait or fly has been taken |
| 24. | (tr) to form or impress (a coin, metal, etc) by or as if by stamping |
| 25. | to level (a surface) by use of a flat board |
| 26. | (tr) to assume or take up (an attitude, posture, etc) |
| 27. | (intr) (of workers in a factory, etc) to cease work collectively as a protest against working conditions, low pay, etc |
| 28. | (tr) to reach by agreement: to strike a bargain |
| 29. | (tr) See also special jury to form (a jury, esp a special jury) by cancelling certain names among those nominated for jury service until only the requisite number remains |
| 30. | (tr) rowing to make (a certain number of strokes) per minute: Oxford were striking 38 |
| 31. | to make a stroke or kick in swimming |
| 32. | (tr) (in Malaysia) to win (a lottery or raffle) |
| 33. | strike home |
| | a. to deliver an effective blow |
| | b. to achieve the intended effect |
| 34. | strike it lucky, strike lucky to have some good luck |
| 35. | informal strike it rich |
| | a. to discover an extensive deposit of a mineral, petroleum, etc |
| | b. to have an unexpected financial success |
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| —n |
| 36. | an act or instance of striking |
| 37. | a cessation of work by workers in a factory, industry, etc, as a protest against working conditions or low pay: the workers are on strike again |
| 38. | a military attack, esp an air attack on a surface target: air strike |
| 39. | baseball a pitched ball judged good but missed or not swung at, three of which cause a batter to be out |
| 40. | tenpin bowling Also called: ten-strike |
| | a. the act or an instance of knocking down all the pins with the first bowl of a single frame |
| | b. Compare spare the score thus made |
| 41. | a sound made by striking |
| 42. | the mechanism that makes a clock strike |
| 43. | the discovery of a source of ore, petroleum, etc |
| 44. | the horizontal direction of a fault, rock stratum, etc, which is perpendicular to the direction of the dip |
| 45. | angling the act or an instance of striking |
| 46. | the number of coins or medals made at one time |
| 47. | another name for strickle |
| 48. | informal an unexpected or complete success, esp one that brings financial gain |
| 49. | cricket take strike (of a batsman) to prepare to play a ball delivered by the bowler |
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| [Old English strīcan; related to Old Frisian strīka to stroke, Old High German strīhhan to smooth, Latin stria furrow] |
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| 'strikeless |
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| —adj |